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COPYRIGHT DEPOSlli 



CALIFORNIA HIGHWAYS 



CALIFORNIA 
HIGHWAYS 

A DESCRIPTIVE RECORD OF ROAD 

DEVELOPMENT BY THE STATE 

AND BY SUCH COUNTIES 

AS HAVE PAVED 

HIGHWAYS 



By 
BEN BLOW 

Manager Good Roads Bureau, California State Automobile Association 



San Francisco 
1920 



<o. 



»A 



COPYRIGHT, I92O 
BY BEN BLOW 



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* 



PRINTED BY THE H. S. CROCKER CO., INC. 
SAN FRANCISCO 



©CI.A571043 



MAY 20 



\ 



DEDICATED 
TO 

THE WOMEN OF CALIFORNIA 

WHO HAVE HELPED MORE 

THAN 

ANY OTHER AGENCY 

IN 

THE FIGHT FOR GOOD ROADS 



FOREWORD 



The many inquiries which have come to the Good Roads 
Bureau of the California State Automobile Association 
during the past few years have served to emphasize the fact 
that there is a widespread and continuing demand for infor- 
mation as to California's state and county highways, while 
as a matter of fact no such publication has been extant. 

The present volume has been prepared to meet that de- 
mand. It is in no sense a technical work, library shelves 
being full of such publications. Nor is it, even remotely, 
intended to be a touring guide, as road conditions change 
from day to day. 

It is intended merely to tell what has been done in Cali- 
fornia as to the development of state and county highway 
systems, to picture how the present movement came into such 
a tremendous swing; and every attempt has been made to 
mention those men and women who took an active part. 

The subject, naturally a dry one, has been treated in a 
more or less popular way. Yet the information put forth has 
been gathered from reliable sources and every attempt has 
been made to have it accurate. None the less it is entirely 
possible that inaccuracies have crept in, so comment and 
criticism are cordially invited in order that future editions 
may be free from any material fault. 



Ben Blow. 



San Francisco, December i, 19 19. 



[vii] 



CONTENTS 



CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Three State Highway Bond Issues ... i 

II. The Bureau of Highways . 12 

III. State Roads 20 

IV. The California Highway Commission ... 27 
V. Type of Road and Construction 35 

VI. Convict Labor . 41 

VII. Maintenance — Road Load — Safety— Signing — 

Tree Planting — Camp Sites 47 

VIII. The Various Highway Commissioners and Office 

Personnel 55 

IX. Division I — The Elimination of the Bell 

Springs Grade 59 

X. Division II — Building the State Highway Up 

The Sacramento River Canyon 65 

XI. Division III — The Building of the Sacramento- 
Yolo Causeway 71 

XII. Division IV — The Boulevard Around San Fran- 
cisco and San Pablo Bays 76 

XIII. Division V — The San Juan Mountain and 

Zaca Canyon Controversies . . ... 81 

XIV. Division VI — The Northern Part of The Tejon- 

Castaic Ridge Route 87 

XV. Division VII — The Tejon-Castaic Ridge Route 

and the Colorado Desert 94 

XVI. State Highway Routes 100 

XVII. State Highway Routes no 



[IX] 



Contents 

CHAPTER PAGE 

XVIII. Campaigning For Good Roads 120 

XIX. California's Good Roads Counties . . . . 125 

XX. Alameda County 132 

XXI. Contra Costa County .138 

XXII. Fresno County 144 

XXIII. Kern County 150 

XXIV. Kings County . 156 

XXV. Los Angeles County 162 

XXVI. Marin County 168 

XXVII. Merced County 174 

XXVIII. Monterey County 180 

XXIX. Napa County . 186 

XXX. Orange County 192 

XXXI. Riverside County 198 

XXXII. Sacramento County . . . 204 

XXXIII. San Bernardino County ....... 210 

XXXIV. San Francisco City and County 216 

XXXV. San Joaquin County 222 

XXXVI. San Mateo County . . 228 

XXXVII. Santa Barbara County 234 

XXXVIII. Santa Clara County ........ 240 

XXXIX. Santa Cruz County 246 

XL. Solano County 252 

XLI. Sonoma County 258 

XLII. Stanislaus County 264 

XLIII. Sutter County 270 

XLIV. Tulare County 276 

XLV. Yolo County 282 

XLVI. Conclusion 288 

Index 289 

l>] 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 



In the Amazing Humboldt Redwoods Frontispiece 

FACING 
PAGE 

Start of State Highway Construction Work ..... 2 

State Highway Construction . 3 

State Highway on Ocean Shore 6 

Valley and Coast State Highway Views 7 

State Highway Bridges 10 

State Highway Bridges 11 

The Bureau of Highways and Maje 14 

Primitive Suspension Bridge 15 

Lake Tahoe Wagon Road 20 

On Peanut Road 21 

On the Ridge Road 24 

Guard Rail and Curb on Ridge Road 25 

Yolo Causeway 28 

Banked Curves 29 

Pouring a Concrete Road from a Barge 32 

Example of Oiled Road 23 

Early Concrete Road Test 36 

State Highway Bridge and Yolo Causeway 37 

Convict Labor Scenes 42 

Eel River and Rattlesnake Creek Scenes ...... 43 

They Wear no Stripes 46 

[XI] 



List of Illustrations 



FACING 
PAGE 



Coast Highway South of San Francisco 47 

Guard Rails and Concrete Curbs 48 

On Altamont Pass * 49 

California State Automobile Association Sign ..... 50 

Automobile Club of Southern California Sign ..... 51 

Tree Planting on State Highway 52 

Tree Planting in San Mateo County $3 

State Highway Organization 56 

Scenes on State Highway 57 

In Division I 60 

Scotia Bridge 61 

Humboldt County Bridge 62 

Reconnaissance and Survey Work 63 

Scenes in Division II 64 

Before and After in Sacramento Canyon ....... 6$ 

Scenes North of Redding 66 

Shasta 67 

Black Butte 68 

Pit River Bridge 69 

Shasta Canyon 70 

State Highway in Yreka 71 

Placerville-Lake Tahoe Road 74 

Scenes in Division III . 75 

Above Carquinez Strait 76 

Detail of Concrete Curb 77 

In Division IV 80 

San Juan Grade 81 

Bridge Near San Luis Obispo 84 

North Approach to Cuesta Grade 85 

On Cuesta Grade 86 

[XII] 



List of Illustrations 



FACING 
PAGE 



Scenes in Division VI 87 

Pavement in Mountains 90 

Wide Roadway in Mountains 91 

Conejo Grade . 94 

Rincon Causeway 95 

El Cajon Valley . 96 

Before and After on Coast 97 

Plank Road, New and Old 98 

Building Plank Road 99 

Start of Route I 100 

Mendocino Redwoods .101 

Government Road in Yosemite 104 

In Colorado Desert 105 

In Mono County 106 

Down Bear Creek Canyon 107 

Concrete in Imperial Valley 108 

Drifting Sand Dunes 109 

Yellow Pines of Modoc 110 

Hundred and One Mile Drive 1 1 1 

Tioga Road and In Mono County 112 

Over Donner Lake 113 

State Highway in Amador County ... . ■ 118 

Mojave Desert 119 

We Love Our County 120 

Comparisons Are Odious .. . 121 

Demonstration Road 122 

Campaign Picture 123 

Tunnel Road 132 

Alameda County Highway 133 

On Oakland's Skyline Boulevard 136 

[ x "i ] 



List of Illustrations 



FACING 
PAGE 



Looking Down Over Oakland . 137 

In the San Ramon Valley 138 

Wide Roads in Contra Costa County ........ 139 

Between Walnut Creek and Oakland 142 

Novel Form of Construction in Contra Costa 143 

Sample of Fresno County Road . . .' . . . . . . . 144 

Oiled Road in Fresno County . . . . . ... . . 145 

Traffic in Oil Fields 148 

t Kearney Boulevard 149 

Grapevine Canyon . ■ . 150 

Seventeen Mile Tangent . . . . 151 

Tree Planting in Kern County 154 

In the Kern Oil Fields 155 

' Paved Road in Kings . . 156 

Odd Traffic in Kings . . 157 

Highway Scenes in Kings 160 

, Between Orchards and Vineyards 161 

Colorado Street Bridge 162 

Fremont Pass, Newhall Tunnel, Topango Canyon, Cahuenga 

Pass 163 

Boulevard Lighting . . . . . . . 166 

Mint Canyon Road . 167 

, Across Alpine Dam 168 

North of San Rafael . . . 169 

On Slope of Tamalpais » 172 

Along Bolinas Bay . . 173 

Into Merced County 174 

Campaigning Under Difficulties 175 

Cox Ferry Bridge .............. 178 

Pacheco Pass Road 179 

[xiv] 



List of Illustrations 



FACING 
PAGE 



Near Carmel ....... 180 

In Monterey County 181 

Between Saunas and Monterey ......... 184 

Monterey County Views 185 

Monticello Bridge . . . 186 

Near Calistoga 187 

Between St. Helena and Calistoga 190 

Between Napa and Rutherford 191 

Wide Highway in Orange County 192 

On the Orange County Coast . . . 193 

Highway, Irrigation and Oranges . . .' , . . . . . 196 

In the Oil Fields of Orange County 197 

Magnolia Avenue 198 

Road up Mount Roubidoux 199 

Near Banning 202 

Highway and Date Ranch , 203 

Folsom Bridge . . . 204 

Natomas Road 205 

Between Hood and Franklin . 208 

On Levee Road 209 

Bridge Over Colorado River 210 

The Rim of the World 211 

Cajon Pass 214 

Map of Hundred and One Mile Drive 215 

Looking Down Market Street 216 

Great Highway . . . ... 217 

Twin Peaks 220 

Seal Rocks and Cliff House 221 

Jactone Road 222 

San Joaquin Highway 223 

[XV] 



List of Illustrations 



FACING 
PAGE 



On Borden Highway 226 

Oil Macadam Road 227 

In San Mateo County 228 

On San Pedro Mountain 229 

San Mateo County Scenes 232 

Bay Shore Road and Half Moon Bay Road 233 

Entrance into Santa Barbara County . . . . . . . . 234 

Concrete Highway Built by Supervisors '.. . 235 

Highway Tree Planting 236 

A Gift to the State 237 

On Mount Hamilton 240 

In the Orchards 241 

Brick Road 244 

Prunes 245 

Cliff Drive in Santa, Cruz 246 

Looking Toward Santa Cruz 247 

View from Boulder Creek Road 250 

Inspiration Point 251 

Solano County Foothills . 252 

Entrance to Vaca Valley . 253 

Rio Vista Bridge 256 

Green Valley Road 2C7 

Russian River Bridge . \ 258 

Sonoma Coast Road 259 

Sixty-Four Thousand, Eight Hundred Eggs ...... 262 

Various Sonoma County Roads 263 

A Stanislaus Highway 264 

Major Annear 265 

Concrete Runway to Garage and Dry Creek Bridge . . . 268 

Dobe Fill and Roberts Ferry Bridge 269 

[xvi] 



List of Illustrations 



FACING 
PAGE 



Nicolaus Bridge '. 270 

Between Live Oak and Pennington 271 

On the State Highway 274 

Sutter Buttes 275 

Highway and Orange Groves 276 

Tulare County Sign 277 

Along Kaweah River 280 

Old Road and New Highway 281 

Yolo Causeway 282 

In Capay Valley 283 

Concrete Trestles 286 

Heavy Road Tonnage 287 

LIST OF MAPS 

PAGE 

Highway System of Bureau of Highways ..... 18 

San Juan Routing 82 

Zaca Canyon Routing 83 

Alameda 134-135 

Contra Costa 140-141 

Fresno 146-147 

Kern 152-153 

Kings 158-159 

Los Angeles 164-165 

Marin 170-171 

Merced 176-177 

Monterey 182-183 

Napa 188-189 

Orange 194-195 

Riverside 200-201 

Sacramento 206-207 

[ xvn ] 



List of Maps 



PAGE 



San Bernardino 212-213 

San Francisco 218-219 

San Joaquin 224-225 

San Mateo 230-231 

Santa Barbara 236-237 

Santa Clara ' . 242-243 

Santa Cruz 248-249 

Solano . 254-255 

Sonoma 260-261 

Stanislaus 266-267 

Sutter 272-273 

Tulare 278-279 

Yolo 284-285 

Paved Highway map of California . . . . . Insert, back cover 



[ XVIII ] 




In the amazing Humboldt Redwoods. 'To be paved with 
concrete. 



CHAPTER I 

THE THREE STATE HIGHWAY BOND ISSUES 

Whenever engineers discuss road building or automobile 
owners talk of touring over smooth highways the 
California state road system is almost invariably mentioned, 
for California, with its rugged topography, its thousand- 
mile stretch of coast line, and its hundreds of miles from east 
to west, has set the pace in highway construction for older 
and more thickly settled and far richer states. 

Three State Highway bond issues, aggregating $73,000,- 
000, have been passed by the people of California, the first, 
for $18,000,000, in 1 910 by 12,786 votes, fourteen of Cali- 
fornia's fifty-eight counties being opposed; the second, for 
$15,000,000, in 1916 by a plurality of 405,132, not a single 
county going against the bonds; while the third, passed on 
July 1, 1 919, was for $40,000,000, the vote being 196,084 for 
to 27,992 against. 

Under the first bond issue a trunk line system was pro- 
posed with two main highways extending from Mexico to 
Oregon, one up through the great interior valleys which 
reach from north to south between the Coast Range moun- 
tains and the Sierra Nevadas; the other along the western 
slope, of the Coast Range, in the .main close to the ocean 
shore. 

From one or the other of these main trunk lines, the law 
provided that laterals should be built to every county seat 
in the state, and the fact that too great a mileage was out- 
lined, in comparison to the money provided, in all prob- 
ability had something to do with the meager plurality by 
which the bonds went through. 

That the men responsible for the building of the California 

[1] 



California Highways 

State Highway system had a troublous time is part of 
California's road-building history. The high finance they 
engaged in to stretch out their meager funds would have done 
credit to Wallingford and Blackie Daw, save for the fact 
that it was done in a worthy cause. They dickered with 
Boards of Supervisors and got them to provide rights of way 
and such bridges as were over twenty feet in span. They got 
the various Portland cement manufacturers to quote them a 
scandalous price upon cement. The rock and sand and 
gravel dealers listened to their tearful pleadings, wept with 
them and chopped their prices to the core. And even the 
Southern Pacific Railway, popularly regarded in those good 
old corporation-baiting days as an octopus, cut its freight 
rates on materials for the State Highway practically in half 
in the face of a very general opinion that all railroads were 
opposed to highway improvement as supplying undesirable 
competition. 

All of these things having been accomplished, the High- 
way Commission perhaps thought that it was to have a period 
of pleasant peace. But it was not. To build roads money 
was needed. To get money required the sale of bonds and 
these bonds, by state law, must be sold for not less than par, 
while, as a matter of fact, par was not to be had. So trouble 
arose again and more frenzied finance was engaged in, the 
result being that those friends of the Highway Commission, 
the various Boards of Supervisors throughout the state, 
once more stepped in and paid par for bonds, supplied the 
necessary cash and work was thus enabled to go on. 

After this, all was easy sailing, as easy as it could be when 
the fact that the Highway Commission was charged with 
building about $50,000,000 worth of roads for $18,000,000 
is taken into consideration. So they went placidly to work 
surveying here and there, the first shovel of earth on Con- 
tract One of the concrete State Highway system being moved 
by Commissioner Burton Towne on August 7, 191 2, in San 
Mateo County on the highway leading from San Francisco 
to the south. 

That a second bond issue would be needed was a foregone 

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The Three State Highway Bond Issues 

conclusion as soon as the first was passed, so in 191 6 the 
State Highway Commission put a modest request before the 
Legislature for another $12,000,000, whereupon the Legisla- 
ture with just about the same degree of thought that one 
devotes to taking a little boy out and buying him an ice 
cream cone, tacked on $>3 ,000,000, threw in about $ 10,000,- 
000 worth of additional roads, and this bond issue, as has 
been set forth above, sailed through easily, somewhat to the 
dismay of the Highway Commission. 

There is an old adage about troubles resembling quail in 
habit; so, shortly after the passage of the second bond issue, 
other troubles arose. The United States began to experience 
abnormal conditions, prices went up — of labor and all sorts 
of supplies. And then the United States plunged into war 
and a multitude of boards and commissions and dollar-a- 
year men appeared like mushrooms, earnestly and sincerely, 
in the main, trying to help win the war but gumming things 
up in relation to construction work until in practically every 
section of the United States highway building was halted, 
the work done by the California Highway Commission being 
the only work of magnitude which was carried on. 

Just what thin ice the men in charge of State Highway 
construction in California skated over during the war is 
known to a few of us. What frenzied appeals were sent to 
Washington, with an occasional hurried trip to the same 
volcanic area, what finesse was necessary to keep road work 
advancing, happily turned out all right. And then Germany 
reached the end of the trail and blew up into forty million 
pieces, that being the number of its inhabitants, and the 
fever for highway building in California became hectic once 
again and resulted in the third State Highway bond issue. 

It may be said that the first two State Highway bond 
issues were sort of cut-and-dried affairs, the program in the 
second one being varied slightly by the legislature, as has 
been told above. In the main, however, the Governor, his 
advisers, and the Highway Commission were the men who 
had the say-so, which was far from being the case in the one 
that was passed on July 1, 1919. 

[3] 



California Highways 

In considering this bond issue it may not be inapt to quote 
the closing paragraph of the "First Biennial Report" of the 
California Highway Commission, issued under date of 
December 31, 191 8, which reads as follows: 

"The data embodied herein may suggest still further legislation and 
any co-operation by the legislature of 19 19 lending to the betterment of 
State Highway work will be appreciated by the commission." 

Inasmuch as this biennial report had confessed, in 
thoroughly dignified and ethical language, that the State 
Highway Commission, owing to the general high cost of 
living, was "busted" and would have to shut up shop unless 
some more money was supplied, the paragraph quoted may 
be taken as a wild yell for help. 

The intention of the Highway Commission was as a matter 
of fact, if properly encouraged, to ask for a further allotment 
of $10,000,000, which would serve to carry on road-building 
work in a modest way, but up to the last week of the first 
session of the legislature no friendly hand had reached out to 
extend them help. 

The session of the California legislature, it may not be 
inapt to state, consists of three distinct periods, the first 
being the period when organization is had, resolutions are 
passed, and bills introduced. The second period is the 
recess, wherein legislators are supposed to quietly ruminate 
over the laws proposed. The third period is that unhappy 
time when the many are called and the few are chosen, when 
proposed legislation is called up, debated upon, and some- 
times passed, a provision being embodied in the law that 
each legislator shall have the privilege of introducing two 
bills in the last session if he cares so to do. 

This slight digression is excusable, perhaps, to emphasize 
the fact that while the Highway Commission, like Barkis, 
was willing no bill to provide more funds had up to Thurs- 
day, January 23d, the next to last day of the first session of 
the 1 91 9 California legislature, been introduced. 

On that day, however, in the Highways Committee room 
of the Senate a meeting was held to discuss the formation 
of a road district for the purpose of securing the development 

[4] 



The Three State Highway Bond Issues 

of the "Skyline Boulevard," south from San Francisco 
through the counties of San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa 
Clara, and Santa Cruz. 

The man presiding at this meeting was M. B. Johnson of 
Montara, representing San Mateo, San Benito, and Santa 
Cruz counties in the State Senate, and those present were 
J. A. Harvey, chairman, and George H. Rostron, of the Santa 
Cruz County Board of Supervisors; Richard J. Welch, E. J. 
Brandon, and Joseph Lahaney, of the San Francisco County 
Board of Supervisors with H. A. Mason acting in an 
advisory capacity; George G. Radcliff of Watson ville, 
Santa Cruz County; Austin B. Fletcher, highway engineer, 
with N. D. Darlington, chairman, Emmett Phillips, and 
C. C. Carlton, attorney, of the California Highway Com- 
mission; Burton A. Towne of Lodi and Ben Blow of San 
Francisco, together representing the California State Auto- 
mobile Association. 

When the business dealing with the Skyline Boulevard 
had reached conclusion the troubles of the State Highway 
Commission became the subject of informal discussion, 
much sympathy being offered these gentlemen, and finally 
a motion was put " that this gathering resolve itself into a 
committee of citizens of the state of California to take up the 
matter of another State Highway bond issue, and that Mr. 
Johnson be requested forthwith to confer with Governor 
Stephens and ask him if he would give audience with this 
committee." 

This motion was promptly seconded, and after a brief 
interval those present were advised that the Governor would 
be pleased to entertain them briefly, which happiness was 
shortly afforded him, the question being asked if he was in 
favor of another State Highway bond issue. 

The Governor was. He made a nice little speech in saying 
so. He said that he believed in good roads — was proud of 
the work the California Highway Commission had done — 
thought that more roads were needed — and that he was back 
of the plan lock, stock, barrel, gunpowder, shot, and wad- 
ding, or words to that effect. 

[5] 



California Highways 

Whereupon the committee repaired once more to the 
committee room and upon motion a committee of six was 
selected: M. B. Johnson of Montara, chairman; Adolph 
Mack of San Francisco, representing the San Francisco 
Chamber of Commerce; Ralph Hamlin of Los Angeles, 
representing the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce; 
Jonathan Dodge of Los Angeles, chairman of the Board of 
Supervisors and representing the State Association of 
Boards of Supervisors ; Henry Keller of Los Angeles, repre- 
senting the Good Roads Committee of the Automobile Club 
of Southern California; and Burton A. Towne of Lodi, 
representing the Good Roads Bureau of the California State 
Automobile Association, who was named as secretary. 

It was further moved and seconded that this committee 
be directed to meet at once in San Francisco for the purpose 
of issuing a state- wide call to boards of supervisors, chambers 
of commerce, woman's clubs, farm bureaus, and various 
other organizations to gather and discuss the matter of 
another State Highway bond issue and fix the amount there- 
for. 

In other words, the plan was to program the matter, vastly 
good politics when a program can be put across, and various 
meetings were held at the office of the California State Auto- 
mobile Association, in San Francisco, by the committee of 
six with numerous volunteer advisers, and invitations to 
attend a good roads mass meeting were sent broadcast 
throughout the state. 

As the result of these invitations, on February 12, in the 
rooms of the Board of Supervisors in the San Francisco City 
Hall, an aggregation of road boosters gathered, forty-nine of 
the fifty-eight counties of the state being represented — 
when, with a few well-chosen remarks, Mayor James Rolph, 
Jr., told*them how glad he was to see them and how much 
the state of California needed more highways. 

Whereupon arose a stout-hearted (and it may be said a 
stout-fisted) Supervisor from a nearby county and on behalf 
of his brethren from the country said that undoubtedly all 
present were in favor of good roads but that they objected 

[6] 







^0 



8* 







State Highway in Fresno County. This is one of Cali- 
fornia's best known road pictures. 




State Highway in Santa Clara County. 



The Three State Highway Bond Issues 

strenuously to being called together to be programmed by a 
few paid employees of automobile associations, which he 
had heard was to be attempted, glowering meanwhile at the 
particular representative of the automobile association 
he had in mind. 

"Very well, then," said the chairman, Mr. Johnson, the 
tapping of his gavel sounding like the efforts of a half-grown 
woodpecker on a far-off stump, "no program goes if you 
don't want it, but I believe that everybody present does 
want to see the State Highway finished. To do that, we are 
told, will take $20,000,000. I'll entertain a motion that it is 
the sense of this convention that a new State Highway bond 
issue should be provided for by the legislature, to include 
the sum of $20,000,000 for finishing up the system already 
proposed and to include such further sum as this convention 
shall decide upon for the inclusion of other roads." 

No sooner said than done. This motion carried enthu- 
siastically, whereupon it was moved and seconded that a 
committee of twenty-one be appointed by the chair to act 
in conjunction with the officers already selected in deciding 
upon what roads should finally have approval and in what 
amount the proposed bond issue should be. 

The officers presiding over the convention were M. B. 
Johnson, chairman; Burton A. Towne, secretary; 
and forthwith Mr. Johnson named the following com- 
mittee of twenty-one: Henry Barker, Northern California 
Hotel Men's Association; Michael Casey, International 
Teamsters Association; F. A. Cook, Southern California 
Hotel Men's Association; Jonathan S. Dodge, State Associa- 
tion of Boards of Supervisors; T. F. Flaherty, Board of 
Supervisors of Riverside County; Edward Fletcher, 
San Diego Chamber of Commerce; Ralph Hamlin, Los 
Angeles Chamber of Commerce; J. A. Harvey, Santa Cruz 
County Board of Supervisors; Henry Keller, Automobile 
Club of Southern California; Adolph Mack, San Francisco 
Chamber of Commerce; Thomas Maxwell, Napa County 
Board of Supervisors; John MacBain, San Mateo County 
Board of Supervisors ; Thomas McCormack, Solano County 

[7] 



California Highways 

Board of Supervisors ; Margaret McGovern, New Era League ; 
B. B. Meek, Oroville Chamber of Commerce; John S. 
Mitchell, California Development Board; Daniel Murphy, 
State Federation of Labor; J. K. O'Brien, Tahoe-to-Ukiah 
Association ; R. L. Riley, San Bernardino County Board of 
Supervisors; Fred Shaffer, Yolo Board of Trade; Richard 
J. Welch, San Francisco Board of Supervisors. 

This done, the committee settled down to consideration of 
the various roads presented and for three days and part of 
some nights it deliberated, while rights were going on all over 
the lot; the final determination being arrived at that 
approximately $40,000,000 was the proper sum and that 
pretty nearly any road that anybody wanted ought to go in. 
Whereupon it adjourned, like a cat waiting at a mousehole, 
and glued its collective eye upon the Legislature to see that 
it did not kick over the traces or perform any other untoward 
act. 

The Legislature, awed perhaps by the size and sincerity 
of the convention held in San Francisco, having confidence 
perhaps in the Senator from San Mateo, who had the matter 
in charge, performed as per schedule. A joint conference was 
had by the Senate Roads and Highways Committee (made 
up of M. B. Johnson, Montara; Frank H. Benson, San 
Jose; W. E. Duncan, Jr., Oroville; S. C. Evans, Riverside; 
Egbert J. Gates, South Pasadena ; Dwight H. Hart, Los 
Angeles; J. L. C. Irwin, Hanford; Lyman M. King, Red- 
lands; Claude F. Purkitt, Willows; E. S. Rigdon, Cambria; 
B. F. Rush, Suisun; E. P. Sample, San Diego; W. B. Shearer, 
Yreka; Herbert W. Slater, Santa Rosa; J. R. Thompson, 
Santa Barbara) and the Assembly Roads and Highways Com- 
mittee (consisting of Wm. J. Martin, chairman, Salinas; 
Crombie Allen, Ontario; J. Stanley Brown, El Centro; 
W. E. Callahan, Antioch; F. J. Cummings, Ferndale; W. A. 
Doran, San Marcos; Walter Eden, Santa Ana; F. L. Eks- 
ward, Burlingame; A. P. Fleming, Los Angeles; W. C. 
Oakley, Santa Maria; Ivan H. Parker, Auburn; Harry 
Polsley, Red Bluff; A. F. Sterns, Healdsburg; C. P. Vicini, 
Jackson; Guy Windrem, Madera), the definite sum of $40,- 

[8] 



The Three State Highway Bond Issues 

000,000 was fixed upon, everybody's road, and a few others, 
put in, and the bill sailed through like fire in a hayfield. 

Other troubles arose, however. The State Highway Com- 
mission, overcoming its great native modesty, called atten- 
tion to the fact that it was at present financially embarrassed 
and that unless some extraordinary legislation was developed 
it would be teetotally " busted" before funds could be 
derived from the proposed bond issue, which, under existing 
laws, could not be voted upon before the fall of 1920 at the 
general election, a lapse of time which might just as well be a 
century so far as present pecuniary needs were concerned. 

And then arose a Moses with his rod and smote the rock 
and funds poured forth. Attorney General Webb was the 
man who finally evolved the plan of amending the constitu- 
tion of California to provide a further sum of $40,000,000 
for State Highway construction by the sale of bonds, the 
one election serving the double purpose of amending the 
constitution of the state of California and providing $40,- 
000,000 for more roads. 

Immediately upon the setting of July 1 as the date 
for the election, the California Good Roads Campaign 
Committee was formed, with L. A. Nares of Fresno 
as chairman, the vice-chairmen being Francis Carr 
of Redding and Henry W. Keller of Los Angeles, while joint 
secretaries were named as follows: D. E. Watkins, manager 
California State Automobile Association, San Francisco; 
John F. Shea, secretary Northern California Hotel Men's 
Association; E. W. Casson, secretary Southern California 
Hotel Men's Association ; and Standish L. Mitchell, secretary 
Automobile Club of Southern California. 

The general committeemen were as follows: C. J. 
Luttrell, Yreka; James K. O'Brien, Smartsville; Jules 
Alexander, Susanville; Frank Freeman, Willows; H. F. 
Ferrill, Eureka; Senator Herbert Slater, Santa Rosa; C. G. 
Leeson, Oroville; H. E. Welch, Lodi ; Supervisor R. J. Welch, 
San Francisco; Daniel J. Murphy, San Francisco; Joseph E. 
Caine, Oakland; John L. D. Roberts, Seaside; E. L. Sherman, 
Modesto; Charles D. Blaney, Saratoga; Fred L. Baker, Los 

[9] 



California Highways 

Angeles County; Frank J. Belcher, Jr., San Diego County; 
F. B. Fuller, Imperial County; W. L. Benchley, Orange 
County; John H. Fisher, San Bernardino County; Frank A. 
Miller, Riverside County; C. A. Barlow, Kern County; 
C. D. Hubbard, Santa Barbara County; Ben Maddox, 
Tulare County; Charles Donlin, Ventura County; Dr. W. 
M. Stover, San Luis Obispo County; H. J. Nichols, Pomona. 
The county chairmen were: Mayor John L. Davie, Oak- 
land, Alameda County; James F. Parks, Plymouth, Amador 
County; W. B. Dean, Chico, Butte County; Clarence 
Getchell, San Andreas, Calaveras County; J. B. De Jarnatt, 
Colusa, Colusa County; Dr. C. H. Henderson, Martinez, 
Contra Costa County; W. P. Malone, Crescent City, Del 
Norte County; J. W. Shanklin, Placerville, El Dorado 
County; George Waterman, Fresno, Fresno County; Frank 
Leavitt, Willows, Glenn County; Jerry Millay, Eureka, 
Humboldt County; C. C. Spinks, Hanford, Kings County; 
C. C. McMahan, Bartlett Springs, Lake County ; L. R. Cady, 
Susanville, Lassen County; H. B. Connert, Mariposa, Mari- 
posa County; W. S. Orvis, Madera, Madera County; Caspar 
J. Gardner, Mill Valley, Marin County; Keith C. Eversole, 
Ukiah, Mendocino County; John R. Graham, Merced, 
Merced County; J. W. Cummings, Alturas, Modoc County; 
J. L. D. Roberts, Seaside, Monterey County; Supervisor 
Thomas Maxwell, Napa, Napa County; J. E. Taylor, Grass 
Valley, Nevada County; J. T. Walsh, Auburn, Placer 
County; L. L. Clough, Quincy, Plumas County; Senator 
Chas. B. Bills, Sacramento, Sacramento County; R. P. 
Lathrop, Hollister, San Benito County; Mayor James 
Rolph, Jr., San Francisco, San Francisco County; Burton E. 
Towne, Lodi-North, San Joaquin County; J. T. Langford, 
Acampo-North, San Joaquin County; Martin Ansbro, Tracy- 
South, San Joaquin County ; Ed Powers, Manteca, San Joa- 
quin County; John S. MacBain, Menlo Park, San Mateo 
County; F. E. Mitchell, Campbell, Santa Clara County; 
J. A. Harvey, Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County; A. H. Gron- 
woldt, Redding, Shasta County; W. I. Reding, Downieville, 
Sierra County; Lewis M. Foulke, Jr., Gazelle, Siskiyou 

[10] 




Rock Creek Bridge in Mendocino County. 




Salinas River Bridge on State Highway near Soledad, 
Monterey County. 




Bridge across Sacramento River at Redding. 




Bridge across Sacramento River at Dunsmuir. 



The Three State Highway Bond Issues 

County; Thomas McCormack, Rio Vista, Solano County; 
D. H. Lafferty, Santa Rosa, Sonoma County; Charles S. 
Northcutt, Modesto, Stanislaus County; C. B. Harter, Yuba 
City, Sutter County; T. H. Ramsey, Red Bluff, Tehama 
County; C. H. Edwards, Weaverville, Trinity County; 
Charles Segerstrom, Sonora, Tuolumne County; Fred 
Shaffer, Woodland, Yolo County; C. W. Keel, Marysville, 
Yuba County. 

That the work of these men was well done is proven by the 
fact that while the first State Highway bond issue carried 
by only 1.3 to 1 and the second a little better by 3.96 to 1, 
the third received a favorable vote in ratio of 7.03 to 1. 

So it is that up to July 1, 1919, there has been voted by the 
people of California $73,000,000 for State Highways. 



[11] 



CHAPTER II 

THE BUREAU OF HIGHWAYS 

In contemplating this advanced sentiment for highway de- 
velopment in California it is interesting to go back to that 
time which marks the beginning of the agitation for a state- 
wide system of good roads and we find that an act "to 
create a Bureau of Highways and prescribe its duties and 
powers and to make an appropriation for its expenses" was 
passed by the Legislature and approved by the Governor on 
March 27, 1895. 

This act contained the following provisions: 

"Section I. Within ten days after the passage of this Act the Gover- 
nor shall appoint three competent persons to compose a Bureau of High- 
ways who shall hold office for two years from the date of their qualifying. 
The persons so appointed shall be selected with particular reference to 
their qualifications for the duties devolving upon them; shall not engage 
in any other pursuit and shall devote their entire time to the service of 
the Bureau of Highways." 

Section II of the Act provided for a $5000 bond for each 
commissioner to assure the proper performance of duty. 
Section III relates to duties as follows: 

"Among the duties of the Bureau of Highways shall be to gather from 
each county in the state statistics showing the total mileage of highways, 
their condition of improvement, the condition of the titles to the right-of- 
way, the method of obtaining title and of keeping the records thereof, the 
method of procedure in granting, closing and altering roads, and the 
manner of preserving the records of the same, the manner in which roads 
are constructed and maintained, the manner of payment for the con- 
struction and maintenance of roads, the manner in which the accounts 
pertaining to same are kept, the manner in which the money for highway 
purposes is raised, the amount expended in the past ten years for high- 
way purposes with the rate of taxation on one hundred dollars that is 
apportioned to the road fund. 

[12] 



The Bureau of Highways 

"It shall enquire into the topographical and geological features of each 
county, and more particularly with regard to the accessibility of water 
for road-sprinkling purposes, and stone quarries, deposits of gravel, 
bituminous rock, sand, adobe, or any other materials suitable for road- 
making purposes. It shall ascertain all laws now in force, in this state, 
appertaining to highways, and shall segregate all such as, in the judgment 
of the members of the bureau, are ineffective or obsolete from such as are 
effective. Inquiry shall be made into what laws and methods are in use 
in other states in regard to road matters and an abstract shall be made of 
such as are best adapted to the state of California. It shall prepare such 
cross sections of roads, plans for draining or watering of roads, and for 
culverts, small bridges and road appliances as may be deemed expedient. 
It shall prepare such blank forms as may be necessary to systematize all 
acts pertaining to the highways, and shall furthermore make any other 
inquiries in matters regarding highway improvement as will be. of interest 
or benefit to the objects of said Bureau. 

"Information and advice shall be furnished by the Bureau of High- 
ways on matters connected with highway improvement and kindred 
subjects at any and all times, to all county officials or others connected 
with the highways, who may apply for the same, and any and all such 
information shall be furnished free of charge. It shall receive orders for 
road materials to be prepared at the state prisons, and shall forward the 
same to the governing body of the prisons, and in case the orders exceed 
the rate of supply shall make an equitable distribution of the product." 

The section given has been quoted at length and it will be 
seen at a glance, in the light of modern road-building develop- 
ments, that the Seven Labors of Hercules constituted an 
entirely trivial and inconsequential job when compared with 
the "duties" assigned to the Bureau of Highways. 

In addition to the duties commented upon, it was further 
provided in Section IV of the act that: "One or more mem- 
bers of the Bureau of Highways shall visit each county in 
the state at least once in each year and shall hold therein 
a public meeting at which there shall be a public discussion 
of all matters relating to highways or highway improve- 
ment." 

Other sections of the act provided for an appropriation 
for salaries and. expenses and other minor details, a supple- 
mentary act being approved on March 28th in the same 
year, which authorized the erection and operation of rock- 
crushing plants at the state prisons, for the preparation of 

[13] 



California Highways 

highway material for the benefit of the people of the state 
of California, and provided for the necessary advances and 
appropriations of money to carry out said work. 

The three men appointed by the Governor in compliance 
with the act establishing the Bureau of Highways were 
Messrs. R. C. Irvine, now living in Sacramento and a 
member of the Sacramento County Highway Commission, 
just finishing one hundred and twenty-five miles of con- 
crete highways; Marsden Manson of San Francisco, one of 
California's foremost engineers; and J. L. Maude, now 
dead, who formerly lived in Riverside. 

These three men were good roads enthusiasts all of them, 
and in commenting upon the work done by the Bureau of 
Highways, Mr. Irvine says that one of their first acts was to 
purchase a team of horses and to have a "buckboard" wagon 
of unusual strength built to order; the next being to embark 
upon the buckboard and sally forth for a first-hand survey 
of the state. 

In furtherance of this laudable purpose during 1895 an d 
1896 the Bureau of Highways, represented mostly by 
Messrs. Irvine and Maude, drove into every county in 
California without a single exception, and in discussing this 
trip Mr. Irvine, who is shown seated in the accompanying 
picture, taken in Riverside County in 1896, directed atten- 
tion to the dog, observing: "That's Maje, my Gordon 
setter who went with us, and he has a bone buried in every 
county in the state/' 

This statement may be accepted as indisputable evidence 
that the Bureau of Highways with its canine coadjutor 
visited every county in the state and moreover that Maje, 
at least, expected to return. 

Be that as it may in relation to the bone-burying accom- 
plishments of Maje, it is a fact that in 1895 anc ^ l %9& tne 
Bureau of Highways drove seven thousand miles along the 
coast, through the valleys, over mountains, traversed the 
deserts and in a report submitted to the Governor under 
date of November 25, 1896, recommended a system of 

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The Bureau of Highways 

state highways consisting of twenty-eight proposed routes 
with the following comment: 

"It will be observed by consulting any good map of the State, or the 
relief map of the State in the office of the Bureau, that the system of 
highways herein presented follows four fundamental principles: 

"First. — They are laid out along those lines which the physical features 
of the State forever fix as the easiest lines of communication. 

"Second. — The great belts of natural wealth which our State possesses 
are each traversed by one or more highways. 

"Third. — The system connects all the large centers of population within 
the limits of the state. 

"Fourth. — The system reaches the county seat of every county, and taps 
the line of county roads so as to utilize them to the fullest extent." 

In submitting this report the Bureau of Highways pre- 
pared and filed therewith a map of the proposed highway 
system which in its main features corresponds almost ex- 
actly with the California highway system of today and 
discloses a breadth of vision that saw through nearly a quarter 
of a century and pictured what is now practically an ac- 
complished fact, in all fairness entitling Messrs. Irvine and 
Manson, living, and Maude, passed on, to that respectful 
appreciation so seldom granted to the men who pioneer the 
way; for they left behind them footprints which lead up 
from the mist of the early nineties to the present when on 
almost every side smooth vistas of roads serve to help 
humanity advance. 

Most of us who are devotees of good roads here in 
California have wondered, somewhat dimly perhaps, as to 
just what the impelling motive was that started our present 
highway development and here again we may turn to the 
Bureau of Highways which in 1896 published a bulletin 
written by Mr. Irvine. 

"The Effect of Roads upon Industrial Development" was 
the title of this old time essay, which it is submitted is in all 
respects worthy of the most rabid good roads enthusiast of 

"The influence of the bicycle," writes Mr. Irvine, "upon 
this agitation for improved highways cannot be overesti- 
mated. Millions of dollars have been invested in the 

[15] 




*» 



1? 



The Bureau of Highways 

state highways consisting of twenty-eight proposed routes 
with the following comment: 

"It will be observed by consulting any good map of the State, or the 
relief map of the State in the office of the Bureau, that the system of 
highways herein presented follows four fundamental principles: 

"First. — They are laid out along those lines which the physical features 
of the State forever fix as the easiest lines of communication. 

"Second. — The great belts of natural wealth which our State possesses 
are each traversed by one or more highways. 

"Third. — The system connects all the large centers of population within 
the limits of the state. 

"Fourth. — The system reaches the county seat of every county, and taps 
the line of county roads so as to utilize them to the fullest extent." 

In submitting this report the Bureau of Highways pre- 
pared and filed therewith a map of the proposed highway 
system which in its main features corresponds almost ex- 
actly with the California highway system of today and 
discloses a breadth of vision that saw through nearly a quarter 
of a century and pictured what is now practically an ac- 
complished fact, in all fairness entitling Messrs. Irvine and 
Manson, living, and Maude, passed on, to that respectful 
appreciation so seldom granted to the men who pioneer the 
way; for they left behind them footprints which lead up 
from the mist of the early nineties to the present when on 
almost every side smooth vistas of roads serve to help 
humanity advance. 

Most of us who are devotees of good roads here in 
California have wondered, somewhat dimly perhaps, as to 
just what the impelling motive was that started our present 
highway development and here again we may turn to the 
Bureau of Highways which in 1896 published a bulletin 
written by Mr. Irvine. 

"The Effect of Roads upon Industrial Development" was 
the title of this old time essay, which it is submitted is in all 
respects worthy of the most rabid good roads enthusiast of 

19 !< 9 ' 
"The influence of the bicycle," writes Mr. Irvine, "upon 

this agitation for improved highways cannot be overesti- 
mated. Millions of dollars have been invested in the 

[15] 



California Highways 

manufacture of these easy and graceful machines of locomo- 
tion and this agitation for better roads is due more directly 
to the efforts of the wheelmen than to any other one 
cause." 

"Any machine," he continues, with perfectly unconscious 
humor, "which enables a man to travel with pleasure, with- 
out discomfort and practically without expense, forty miles 
a day, is evidently one which has come to stay and the 
number of wheelmen will surely reach extraordinary pro- 
portions in the years to come." Which, in this day when 
most of us have no little difficulty in confining our progress 
over highways to a speed of less than forty miles an hour, may 
be regarded as proof, after all, that the world really does 
move. 

Farther on in his bulletin he declares: "In California, 
the conditions are so favorable to the construction of per- 
manent roads that, with proper legislation, it can reasonably 
be hoped that the Golden State will set an example to all 
others in the Union," disclosing even so far back that 
modesty which is such a distinguishing characteristic of 
Californians, who will always joyously admit that their 
state is extraordinarily blessed. 

"The absence of snow and frost," the bulletin continues, 
"obviates one of the great difficulties that must be contended 
with in the Eastern states and the presence throughout the 
state of excellent material for highway construction is a 
great aid to the advancement of the movement for good 
roads. The manifold reasons why wheelmen desire good 
roads are, of course, worthy of consideration but the fact 
must not be lost sight of that the farmer, the freighter, and 
the merchant need good roads to a greater extent than do the 
wheelmen, for over the highways must be hauled all that is 
produced, and the better the road, the more economically 
can products be transported." 

As a result, no doubt, of the activity of the Bureau of 
Highways the press throughout the state took up the agita- 
tion for better roads, the Los Angeles Times of January 18, 
1896, saying editorially: "If the state were to build a few 

[16] 



The Bureau of Highways 

hundred miles of first-class highways the benefits would be 
so great and so apparent that the movement for good roads 
would be greatly accelerated and the people would cheer- 
fully furnish the money necessary to continue the work 
until all the principal roads in the state were improved." 
While under date of February 4, 1896, the San Francisco 
Call declared: "There is something fascinating in the 
declaration made by a member of the State Bureau of High- 
ways that it is the intention of the bureau to see that a 
finely macadamized highway is built from one end of the 
state to the other." 

The San Francisco Chronicle of February 24, 1896, dis- 
closed the activity of bicycle riders again, saying: "There is 
no doubt that the general interests of the state would gain 
by the success of the plan which the wheelmen propose for 
the improvement of the country roads. The design is to 
have the laws so amended that certain leading highways will 
be built and maintained by state taxation, and the less 
important roads, which serve the purpose of feeders, be 
maintained by the districts in counties. It is obvious that 
good roads would help production and trade as well as 
facilitate the pleasure of bicycling/' 

The Fresno Republican of November 24, 1896, declared 
itself characteristically: "Certainly it is time for a change 
in our road laws. We have been pouring money into that 
rathole long enough. The state needs good roads and the 
people are expending money enough to get them. The 
Legislature will do a good work this winter by acting along 
the lines recommended by the Bureau of Highways." 

While the Stockton Record said: "Governor Budd does 
certainly voice one good suggestion in his message to the 
Legislature. He endorses a plan for a state system of high- 
ways and asks the Legislature to formulate some plan by 
which the state may gradually undertake the task of pro- 
viding permanent, hard roads for thoroughfares." 

A declaration made by the San Francisco Examiner of 
January 3, 1897, shows that paper boosting for good roads 
as consistently as it does now. "Hard, smooth, well graded 

[17] 



California Highways 

highways are essential in fruit-growing districts" was its 
statement, "particularly when fresh fruit is produced for 
Eastern shipment. These can best be secured by some such 
law as that proposed by the State Road Commission." 

These expressions of editorial opinion seem to indicate a 
widespread public interest in road improvement which, as 
a matter of fact, dated even farther back than 1895 for we 
find that a good roads convention was held in the Senate 
Chamber in Sacramento under the encouragement of 
Governor Markham in 1893, at which a highway system was 
discussed but from which, unfortunately, no definite results 
appeared. 

In tracing the history of the Bureau of High- 
ways, the achievements of which appear creditable while 
cold documentary evidence testifies to the practicability of 
their plans, we find that the Act of 1895 was repealed by an 
act of the Legislature approved April 1, 1897, the Bureau 
of Highways dismissed and a Department of Highways 
established; Messrs. Irvine and Maude being dropped (per- 
haps for reasons having to do with politics which in those 
good old days was played close to the table) and Messrs. 
Marsden Manson, J. R. Price, and W. L. Ashe named com- 
missioners. By this act it was provided that the three 
highway commissioners should hold office for two years at 
the end of which time their offices should automatically 
cease and all of the powers attaching to them should be 
vested in one man, who must be a civil engineer, to be ap- 
pointed by the Governor and to hold office for a period of 
four years. 

The highway commissioner appointed at the end of the 
two-year period designated by the statute was Mr. J. L. 
Maude, whose political fortunes at that time had dealt him 
the high hand, and as highway commissioner Mr. Maude 
served until 1903 when Mr. Nat Ellery was appointed, serv- 
ing until 1907 when the State Department of Engineering 
was created. This was an advisory body made up of the 
Governor, ex-officio member and chairman, the State En- 
gineer, the General Superintendent of State Hospitals, the 

[is] 




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Sketch M a P 



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OUTLINING THE STATE HIGHWAY SYSTEM 



RECOMMENDED BY 



THE BUREAU OF HIGHWAYS. 



\- 



3AN FRANCISCO 
Jbf- /7/'cAmer)</, fit. 



.A 



\ 



State and County Boundaries, Etc., 
Shown in Black. 
Highway System in Red. A arguela 

of Highways. 



SAN BERNARDINO 



c&s: 



v- HIS system intersects the great belts of 
<J wealth in the State, traverses every 
county, reaches every county seat and all 
centers of population, and is projected on 
the best grades possible. 



RIVERSIDE 



33° N. _ 
(Tiar/tsfon, 5<. 



SAN DIEGO 



Note. — This is a reproduction of the map prepared by the jr 
Bureau of Highways in 1896 showing the State highway 
system they recommended. Original map was in two colors. 




slSs^ttX^ .v\ 






rfj io ooffip or!) in I . 



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lo qlted l£5i g 81 H 

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•bis i 



«^'jttjk s 



The Bureau of Highways 

chairman of the State Board of Harbor Commissioners of 
San Francisco, these men all serving ex officio, and three 
other members specifically appointed by the Governor, the 
whole board to carry out such duties as were or might be pro- 
vided by law. The State Engineer under this act was Mr. 
Ellery who, with his confreres, no doubt did the best he could, 
but inasmuch as no particular amount of money was supplied 
for road-building purposes no remarkable amount of per- 
manent road building was done. 

The same conditions which confronted Mr. Ellery in his 
work have hampered the present State Engineer, Mr. W. T. 
McClure, who, with his principal deputy, Major P. M. 
Norboe, has been charged urjtil recently with the care of 
certain State roads but not provided with any funds therefor. 

It may not be out of order at this point to say that of all 
the various agencies intervening between the Act of 1895 
and the act creating the present California Highway Com- 
mission, no one of them seemed to get down to the brass 
tacks of a real State Highway plan quite so closely as the 
Bureau of Highways and no individual in that time wielded 
quite so prolific or facile a pen as did Mr. Irvine, whose 
writings upon the subject of roads form no unimportant 
part of the documents treasured in the State Library of 
California, which may appear strange when it is known that 
Mr. Irvine's literary education consisted in driving a freight 
team between Sacramento and Virginia City, Nevada, in 
which he engaged when he was fifteen years old, remember- 
ing even to this day with painful clearness that the toll 
between the points named, over privately owned roads was 
$25 for a double team. Perhaps the fact that Mr. 
Irvine was born in Missouri may have had something to do 
with the matter for that derided state has produced some 
entirely worthy writers as well as other great men. 



[19] 



CHAPTER III 

STATE ROADS 

Following the creation of the State Bureau of Highways 
various state roads have been from time to time created 
by legislative enactment. These roads were not originally 
a part of the State Highway system even though now taken 
in under an act of the Legislature of 191 7, and it seems 
proper to consider them at this point. They were as follows : 

1. The Placerville-Lake Tahoe Road was originally 
a toll road incorporated as the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road 
beginning near Smith's Flat, three miles east of Placerville, 
and extending eastwardly to the* state line, a distance of 
sixty-five miles. It was taken over by the state in 1895 an< ^ 
is one of California's historic highways over which flowed 
the variegated travel of "the days of 49. " 

2. The Mono Lake Basin State Road came into being 
only after a stormy fight extending over a period of years 
by the people of Inyo, Mono, and Alpine Counties, who 
demanded a direct route over the Sierras to the Sacramento 
and San Joaquin valleys, their struggle being finally crowned 
with success in 1899 when the Legislature ordered the 
Department of Highways to construct a "free wagon road 
connecting Mono County roads with the Tioga road." 
The Tioga road, it may be said, was originally built by the 
Great Sierra Wagon Road Company, a subsidiary of the 
Great Sierra Consolidated Silver Mining Company which 
was engaged in exploiting the Tioga Mine. It was a toll 
road operating under franchise from Tuolumne County and 
supplied a short cut over the Sierras from Mono Lake 
Basin, continuing in operation as a toll road until 191 5 when 
fifty-three miles lying within Yosemite National Park was 

[20] 




On the Lake "Tahoe wagon road; the first highway taken 
over by the State. 



State Roads 

acquired by the Government, the seven miles between the 
park boundary and the Big Oak Flat road being acquired by 
the state upon condition that Tuolumne County would 
terminate the franchise of the toll road company which was 
done. 

At the same time another act was passed declaring the 
Big Oak Flat road, which was also a toll road, part of the 
State Highway upon condition that Tuolumne County 
acquire and transfer it to the state together with the county 
road which formed a connection with the Sonora lateral of 
the State Highway at a point near Chinese Camp, these 
various roads now supplying a State Highway lateral from 
the valley trunk line at Salida, just above Modesto in 
Stanislaus County, to Mono Lake, fifty-three miles of the 
route being under government control in Yosemite National 
Park, a branch road extending from Sequoia, through the 
Tuolumne Big Tree Grove to Cascade Creek, about five 
miles from the Yosemite Valley, being owned by State and 
Government, eight of the fourteen miles involved being 
within Yosemite National Park. 

3. The Sonora-Mono State Road was formerly a toll 
road extending across the mountains from Sonora, Tuolumne 
County, to Bridgeport, Mono County, built to serve travel 
when mining was at its height but allowed to fall into disuse 
and disrepair as time went on until in 1901 it was taken over 
by the state and two years later $4000 was appropriated to 
put it in repair, this sum being ridiculously inadequate to 
rehabilitate seventy-eight miles of dilapidated road. In 
1905, $28,000 was appropriated by the Legislature, and in 
1907 a further appropriation of $12,000 was made, these 
two appropriations serving to make the road fairly passable 
perhaps owing to the fact that a power company developing 
reservoirs in the Tuolumne River canyons got tired of the 
state's delay and chipped in, building at its own expense 
and with no thanks, thirty-eight miles of the road. 

4. The Trinity-Humboldt Road originated in 1903 
when an appropriation of $1800 was made for a survey of a 
road from North Fork, Trinity County, to a point near 

[ai] 



California Highways 

China Flat in Humboldt County, which was followed in 
1907 by an appropriation of $50,000 "to connect the roads 
of Humboldt County with those of Trinity, Shasta and 
Tehama Counties," the "Mad River Low Gap" route being 
finally selected and the road being open today forming a 
connection thirty-three miles long between the road systems 
of the counties named, supplying a direct connection with 
the Sacramento Valley for Humboldt County where none 
existed as well as opening up a way to the quaint mountain 
town of Weaverville, the county seat of Trinity, for residents 
in the lower part of the county whose travel previously had 
been on horseback over trails that would shock a Rocky 
Mountain goat. This road is thoroughly worth while 
essaying, is easily travelable, and discloses that variety of 
interest which always attaches to a step aside from beaten 
paths. 

5. The Kings River Canyon Road. This stretch of 
state road which was established by act of the Legislature in 
1906 promises some day to be one of the famous and popular 
touring trips of the state and connects the Fresno County 
road system at General Grant National Park with the little 
known Kings River Canyon which, in point of scenic 
splendor, stands little if any below Yosemite. 

6. The Sierra State Highway. This road was author- 
ized by the Legislature in 1907 and an appropriation of 
$12,000 was made for surveys and construction work. It 
covered the distance of twenty miles between Downieville 
and Mount Pleasant, apparently serves no important pur- 
pose, and is not worth considering at any length. 

7. The Auburn-Emigrant Gap State Road. Most 
of the grade of this much - traveled road was built by the 
Central Pacific Railroad during construction of its line, 
being put in to make possible the hauling of supplies to its 
right of way. With the Emigrant Gap-Donner Lake road 
(No. 12 of the roads under consideration) it forms one of 
California's most famous roads and will, in time, be one of 
the main summer highways into Nevada and the east. 

8. The Alpine State Road. In 191 1 various county 

[ M ] 



State Roads 

roads of El Dorado, Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, and Mono 
Counties were taken over by legislative enactment under 
state control, aggregating two hundred and seventeen miles 
and rambling generally about the central eastern portion of 
the state, being intended it may be concluded, as the section 
traversed is one of the most picturesque in the state, to 
supply an intrastate tour which, in spite of lack of funds for 
either repair or maintenance, has grown popular and shows 
an increasing volume of automobile travel each year. For 
purposes of convenience it may be separated into four 
divisions as follows: 

Alpine branch — From Osgoods, on the Placerville-Lake 
Tahoe road, through Markleeville to Mount Bullion. 

Calaveras branch — From Bullion through Ebbitts Pass 
to the Calaveras Big Trees. 

Amador branch — From Jackson, Amador County, by 
way of Carson Pass connecting with the Alpine branch at 
Picketts in the lower end of Hope Valley. 

Mono branch — Running from Little Antelope Valley to 
a connection with the Sonora-Mono road on the east fork 
of West Walker River. 

When constructed, as it no doubt will be owing to the fact 
that touring road development is part of the present Cali- 
fornia plan, the Alpine state road will constitute one of those 
attractive motor trips which are serving to bring more 
automobile owners to California every year. 

9. The Lassen State Road. This road was established 
in 191 1 and runs from the Shasta County line near Pittville 
east and north through the northwest corner of Lassen 
County, passing through Bisbee to the Modoc County line a 
few miles south of Adin. It now forms part of the Alturas 
lateral of the State Highway. 

10. The Myers-McKinneys State Road. This road, 
provided for by the Legislature in 191 1, was intended to 
supply access from the Placerville-Tahoe road to McKinneys 
on Lake Tahoe, and the intent of the men responsible for it 
has been admirably served as will be understood when it is 
known that in 191 1 tourists desiring to pass from one end 

[23] 



California Highways 

of Lake Tahoe to the other, either by wagon or automobile, 
were compelled to either ferry thirty miles by barge, or make 
the trip by way of Carson City and Reno in Nevada and 
then back through Truckee, California, a distance of more 
than one hundred miles. 

ii. The McKinneys-Donner Lake State Road. In 
1 91 5 the Legislature placed under state control this road 
connecting the last named road with Tahoe City and thence 
through Truckee to Donner Lake where it connects with the 
Emigrant Gap state road and supplies one of the state's 
most famous drives. 

12. The Emigrant Gap-Donner Lake State Road. 
Beginning at Emigrant Gap, where it connects with the 
Auburn-Emigrant Gap road taken over by the state in 1909, 
this road reaches Donner Lake, Truckee, and Lake Tahoe. 
From Truckee a road is provided by the 19 19 state highway 
bond issue to Verdi on the California-Nevada line, in part 
down the canyon of the Truckee river, in part over what is 
known as the Dog Valley grade. 

13. The Tahoe-Crystal Bay State Road. This road, 
provided for in 191 5 by legislative enactment, was intended 
to supply the last link in a state road beginning at the Cali- 
fornia line on the north end of the lake and following the 
shore line to its connection with the Nevada state line to 
the south, an undertaking worth while from every viewpoint 
and supplying access to lakeshore home sites within the 
Tahoe National Forest, suitable for summer residential 
purposes, which may be leased for a few dollars a year from 
the Government. 

14. The Yolo and Lake Highway, created by the 
Legislature in 191 5, commences at the town of Rumsey in 
Yolo County and follows the meanderings of Cache Creek 
into Lake County, where it ends at the town of Lower Lake. 
This road reaches into a desirable agricultural area and one 
exceptionally interesting from a touring standpoint, Lake 
County being so isolated in its situation and so limited in its 
funds as to need state help in its road problems. With suf- 
ficient funds the Yolo and Lake Highway may be made into 

[24] 




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State Roads 

a cross-state connection between coast and valley lines of 
the State Highway. 

15. The Big Oak Flat Road. Taken over by the state 
under the Act of 191 5, this road, thirty-two miles long, from 
Jack Bell sawmill to Cascade Creek was formerly a toll road 
and was acquired by Tuolumne County and transferred to 
the state. It forms one of the popular entrances into the 
Yosemite and is properly under state control, the main 
burden of its traffic being supplied by outside tourists rather 
than by people resident locally. 

16. The Kern-Ventura State Highway. Not forming 
a part of the State Highway as laid out by the State High- 
way Commission this road owes its origin to legislative 
enactment in 191 5 which provided for the survey and loca- 
tion of a highway from a point in Kern County south of 
Bakersfield to the town of Nordhoff in Ventura County, 
where connection is made with an already established and 
splendidly planned system of county highways. No funds 
have been supplied for this road and there is little chance for 
its development in the near future. 

17. The Pasadena State Highway. Another of the 
group of roads designated by the Legislature in 191 5 and 
intended to connect La Canada Valley with Antelope 
Valley, both in Los Angeles County. This highway has its 
origin near La Canada and follows the Arroyo Seco to a point 
east of Hoyt's Ranch, thence by way of Tujunga Canyon, 
Mill Creek, Tie Canyon, and Kennedy Springs to Vincent. 

In addition to these "state" roads, established by special 
acts of the Legislature and therefore treated separately from 
the State Highway, other roads have been accorded state 
aid by legislative enactment, there being three of these, of 
which the Pescadero-Redwood Park road established in 191 5 
is the only one of any importance. This road runs from 
Pescadero in San Mateo County to Redwood Park in Santa 
Cruz County and when completed will be, by all odds, the 
most attractive drive within a day's journey of San Fran- 
cisco, enabling the motorist to travel from San Francisco 
down the San Mateo County ocean shore road, via Pesca- 

[25] 



California Highways 

dero, over the La Honda road to Redwood Park, thence into 
Santa Cruz by the Boulder Creek road and back over the 
mountains by the State Highway, passing Saratoga, Los 
Gatos and thence to San Francisco by way of the beautiful 
Santa Clara Valley. The development of this road is 
predicated upon county help, and it may be said that the 
counties involved have done their full share. 

The second in importance of these state aid roads is that 
extending from Alturas to Cedarville in Modoc County for 
which the state appropriated $7000 contingent upon the 
expenditure of $3500 by the county, both sums having been 
spent without the accomplishment of any particularly 
surprising results. 

The remaining road, two miles long, was across Middle 
Lake in Surprise Valley, Modoc County, a fill being made 
across the shallow lake, and a state appropriation of $20,000 
being provided to help in the expense, which was justified 
apparently on the theory that it would form a connection 
at its east end with a county road "leading into Nevada." 
The appropriation was exhausted before the work was done 
and the future development of the road is at present one of 
the white man's burdens resting upon Modoc County. 

With little doubt these roads will be, as the seventeen 
state roads above described have been, put under the juris- 
diction of the State Highway Commission as part of the 
State Highway scheme but, inasmuch as all these roads were 
created by legislative enactment rather than as a result of 
any action upon the part of the State Highway Commission, 
it has been thought best to discuss them separately. 



[■*>] 



CHAPTER IV 

THE CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY COMMISSION 

With the roads considered in the preceding chapter 
forming, as they undoubtedly do, a connecting link 
between the original Bureau of Highways and the present 
California Highway Commission, and therefore meriting 
consideration, attention may be devoted to that state 
organization now engaged in developing our state roads. 
This body owes its origin to a bill approved by Governor 
Gillett on March 22, 1909, which authorized the construc- 
tion, acquisition, maintenance, and control of a system 
of state highways, Section 10 of this act providing that: 
"This Act shall be submitted to the people of the state of 
California for their ratification at the next general election 
to be holden in the month of November, 1910, a. d." 

Governor Gillett had long been a good roads enthusiast, 
and in the preliminary and tremendously important stages 
of that work, which was to result in giving California a 
splendid system of state roads, had thrown the undoubted 
strength of his personality back of the movement and was 
responsible in great measure for the successful passage of the 
bill which, as has been said, was passed on November 8, 1910, 
by a majority so small that in the light of subsequent road- 
building developments it can scarcely be explained. 

On the same day Hiram Johnson was elected Governor 
and to him also, in no small degree, is California's splendid 
system of state roads due, for, whenever difficulties devel- 
oped or obstacles intervened, he was always on hand to take 
part in the fight, which is saying a great deal, for Governor, 
now Senator, Johnson is a militant soul who does not par- 
ticularly detest warfare and, win or lose, always has the other 



California Highways 

side convinced that it has been in an honest-to-goodness 
fight. 

The first step taken in the establishment of the present 
system, aside from the legislative preliminaries involved, 
took place on the eighth day of August, 191 1, when the 
Advisory Board of the Department of Engineering of the 
State of California met at the Governor's call in his office in 
Sacramento, the following persons being present: Hon. 
Hiram W. Johnson, Governor and ex-officio member and 
chairman; Mr. Nat Ellery, State Engineer; Mr. J. J. 
Dwyer, Chairman of the State Board of Harbor Commis- 
sioners of San Francisco; Dr. F. W. Hatch, General Superin- 
tendent of State Hospitals; and Messrs. Charles D. Blaney 
of Saratoga, Burton A. Towne of Lodi, and N. D. Darlington 
of Los Angeles, the three appointed members. At this 
meeting the following resolution was passed: 

RESOLVED, That the appointed members of this Board, to wit, 
Messrs. Charles D. Blaney, Newell D. Darlington and Burton A. Towne. 
be, and they hereby are, appointed a committee to be known and desig- 
nated as the California Highway Commission with the jurisdiction and 
powers following, to wit: 

1. — To take full charge of the entire matter of the construction and 
acquisition of a system of state highways in and for the state, as and in 
such manner provided by law, at a cost not to exceed the sum of 
$18,000,000 under and in pursuance of the Act of the Legislature of the 
State of California approved March 22, 1909, and known as the State 
Highway Act and to do and perform as fully and completely as may be 
done by any part, or representative, or committee of this Advisory 
Board, every act and thing that may be requisite to be done and per- 
formed in connection with the highways of the State of California or that 
ought to be done and performed under the said State Highway Act. 

a. — To do and perform every act and thing in and about the premises 
that a committee of this Board may be lawfully authorized to do for or on 
behalf of this Board ; and to have full charge and control of the acquisition 
and construction, of the laying out and the building of a system of such 
highways. 

3. — To report from time to time to this Board their actions and pro- 
ceedings and to submit to this Board for determination such matters as 
the law requires this Board to act upon; and to superintend the work and 
operations of the Highway Engineer whose appointment is provided for 
by the Act of the Legislature of the State of California, approved April 
8, 1911. 

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The California Highway Commission 

4. — To perfect such organization as they may deem necessary to carry 
on with celerity and efficiency the work to be done in the matter of the 
acquisition and construction of the said system of State Highways, and 
under said State Highway Act; and generally to do all and singular every 
act and thing that may be necessary for the due, speedy and efficient 
performance of all that may be required under the said State Highway 
Act, and under the Act of the Legislature of the State of California 
approved April 8, 191 1. 

Which, stripped of its dry, legal verbiage, meant that 
Governor Johnson and the State Board of Engineering had 
selected Messrs. Blaney, Darlington, and Towne, the three 
members of the board not serving ex officio, to undertake 
the work and assume the tremendous responsibilities of 
building the State Highway. When this commission was 
called together by the Governor he said bluntly, and, it may 
be added, truthfully, in the light of after events: "Gentle- 
men, you face a tough job. You are expected to build for 
eighteen million dollars a highway system that the best 
engineers of the country have estimated will cost from thirty- 
five to fifty millions." 

In justice to the gentlemen named it may be said that the 
magnitude of the job did not terrify them in the least. They 
were all men of affairs. Each had made good in his own 
particular line of effort, and as a committee they took up, 
with Mr. Towne as chairman, under the statutory com- 
pensation of $3600 a year each, what was probably the 
biggest road-building job of modern times — none of them 
particularly interested in the salary but each resolved to 
give of his best for the advancement of the state which all 
desired to serve. 

Under the provisions of the Act which had resulted in 
their appointment it was directed that: "The highway 
constructed or acquired under the provisions of this Act 
shall be permanent in character and be finished with oil or 
macadam or a combination of both or of such other ma- 
terials as, in the judgment of the said Department of 
Engineering, shall be most suitable and best adapted to the 
particular locality traversed." Which, in all conscience, 
afforded them ample latitude to sink or swim. 



California Highways 

To secure a competent road-building engineer for the 
California Highway Commission was no easy task, for upon 
this man the success or failure of the plan must needs 
depend. Highway engineers there were in plenty who 
would have liked the job — men of satisfactory standing in 
their profession who had made good in other states — but in 
seeking the right man, some engineer who was big enough 
to establish precedent rather than follow in the footprints of 
other men, Governor Johnson, upon whom rested the 
responsibility of choosing, settled upon a highway engineer 
who had been brought to California from Massachusetts to 
deal with the road-building problems of San Diego County. 

This man was Austin B. Fletcher, who had served the 
Massachusetts Highway Commission and had been special 
agent of the United States Bureau of Public Roads. During 
his connection with the Government bureau Mr. Fletcher 
had written a bulletin which the Office of Public Roads 
accepted as authoritative and published widely under the 
title, "The Construction of Macadam Roads," this being 
in 1906 in the days when concrete road building was prac- 
tically unknown, the resultant publicity given the author 
securing a widespread reputation for him. 

At any rate, so thoroughly had Mr. Fletcher achieved the 
confidence of the Bureau of Public Roads, the Massachusetts 
Highway Commission, and San Diego County that the 
Governor felt no hesitancy in appointing him to the respon- 
sible position of Highway Engineer and since that time, in 
spite of criticism and freely offered declarations in the 
earlier stages of the work that he was headed for failure, 
Mr. Fletcher has made good, evolved, if you please, what has 
come to be widely regarded as a more or less distinct plan of 
road building popularly known as the California type. 

Since his appointment Mr. Fletcher has been continuously 
on the job except for a short time in 191 6, when the Govern- 
ment borrowed him to assist in formulating a plan for the 
expenditure of $ 160,000,000 Federal and state road moneys 
under what is known as the Bankhead Bill, which was a com- 
pliment to California, not to mention Mr. Fletcher. 

[30] 



The California Highway Commission 

At the very start the newly appointed California Highway 
Commission faced tremendous difficulties, the least of which 
was involved in creating an office organization that could 
spend millions and account for them to the last cent. In 
addition a field force must be gathered and endowed with 
that esprit de corps without which no big undertaking can 
sail toward success. So efficiently was this done that today 
of the seven division engineers of the California Highway 
Commission, originally employed, only two have left and of 
these, Mr. A. E. Loder, in the language of the small boy 
which exactly fits the case, was "swiped" from California 
by the United States Bureau of Public Roads, which govern- 
mental office he is serving today as one of the principal 
assistant engineers, while Mr. Walter C. Howe, resigning 
to enter the service of his country in the army, preferred to 
remain in private life. 

In planning the undertaking that was charged to it the 
Highway Commission was allowed ample latitude as to 
route, the provisions of the statute being that: 

"The route or routes of said state highways shall be selected by the 
Department of Engineering, and said routes shall be so selected and said 
highways so laid out and constructed or acquired as to constitute a continu- 
ous and connected state highway system, running north and south through 
the state, traversing the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys and along 
the Pacific coast by the most direct and practical routes, connecting the 
county seats of the several counties through which it passes, and joining 
centers of population together with such branch roads as may be necessary 
to connect therewith the several county seats lying east and west of such 
state highways." 

A glance at the State Highway map of California today 
shows how the commission analyzed the language of the 
bill and, having formed their general plans as to the layout of 
the roads, they started out to look things over for themselves. 
With the Highway Engineer they traveled up and down the 
state and circulated around quite promiscuously, following 
the probable roads and visiting different counties many 
times, picking up the county surveyor here, a member of the 
Board of Supervisors there, a good roads booster in another 
place, and insisting always upon being shown, by someone 

[31] 



California Highways 

who knew the roads of the particular locality, what might 
prove to be a better route than that which they had tenta- 
tively settled upon. 

This trip was made by automobile, and all Californians 
will admit that it comprehended the most beautiful scenic 
section of America, but it was far from being a pleasure 
jaunt according to Commissioner Blaney. "We started 
out," he told one of his friends, "to find if it was possible to 
abolish many of the natural barriers and run two big trunk 
roads from Oregon to the Mexican line, with no greater grade 
than six per cent. We covered six thousand eight hundred 
fifty miles on our tours. We were kicked off mountain roads 
by mules, we were stuck in river fords, we slid around 
dangerous mountain grades, we broke our windshield and 
punched holes in the bottom of our gasoline tank on the 
rocks on the desert, and after we had covered the trunk lines 
and laterals of California from Oregon to Mexico we went 
back to Sacramento and drew the State Highway routes on 
a big map of the state." In other words, the State Highway 
was planned as the result of an actual observation of the 
state's needs by the commission and its engineer and largely 
followed, it is only justice to state, the system mapped out 
by the original Bureau of Highways after their peregrina- 
tions with the buckboard and old Maje. 

The state was districted and seven divisions established, 
each in charge of a division engineer. Then the actual work 
of survey began. Through the valleys planning roads was 
comparatively a simple matter, the theory followed being 
that the shortest distance between any two given points is a 
straight line. In the mountains, however, was different, for 
there the selection of a route is, as a rule, controlled not by 
centers of population but by the topography and geology 
of the country to be traversed. The location of mountain 
roads, it may be said, is fraught with a multitude of obstacles 
which can be surmounted only by the application of certain 
engineering principles, unstinted physical energy, and a vast 
amount of common sense. To be successful the field engi- 
neer must not only be vigorous mentally and physically but 

[32] 





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A fair example of the obsolete oiled dirt road. 



The California Highway Commission 

be technically proficient as well. Aside from being an 
engineer he must be a woodsman endowed with the faculty 
of arising to any emergency in connection with the estab- 
lishment of camps and transportation of supplies. It is 
needless to state that this type of engineer is scarce, for, as 
has been aptly declared, "Nature rarely combines mathe- 
matical talent with the practical tact and observation of 
outward things so essential to a successful engineer." 

Be that as it may, and undoubtedly men of the type that 
laid out the mountain stretches of the State Highway are 
hard to get, none the less the California Highway Com- 
mission secured them and the roads they selected and located 
stand as a monument to them today. With that success 
which only can be arrived at by utter forgetfulness of self, 
they threaded canyons where they were forced to swing like 
spiders from a slender thread or traced their way along the 
backbone of mountain ridges through almost impenetrable 
thickets of mountain brush, making camp where night 
overtook them and depending upon pack horses for their 
supplies and water for themselves and stock. 

In valley locations, also, difficulties were encountered that 
required enthusiasm to bridge, vast stretches where at 
certain seasons of the year the snow waters of the Sierras 
made inland seas, places where drifting sands in dunes that 
lifted many feet crept onward in ceaseless march, quicksands 
and stretches along ocean shores where the road must run in 
almost actual contact with the waves, deserts where the 
nearest water was, perhaps, a hundred miles, the sun beating 
down in almost overpowering heat, and where the depth was 
hundreds of feet below the level of the ocean — these were 
the problems that confronted them. 

Romance, it might be said, was built into the roads that 
they laid out, for that stretch of highway reaching from San 
Francisco to San Diego by way of Los Angeles followed the 
line of the King's Highway (El Camino Real) laid out by the 
padres when California was Spain, while other roads traced 
their way into the land of Bret Harte, Mark Twain, and the 
old-time mining districts of the days of 49. And aside from 

[33l 



California Highways 

that there was that other romance which is inseparable from 
the accomplishment of a big undertaking; of difficulties met 
face to face and conquered merely as a part of the good day's 
work. 

In a comparatively short time, less than a year after actual 
work began, more than one thousand miles of highway had 
been surveyed and the actual work of construction faced 
the California Highway Commission and its engineer, the 
funds supplied them being about one-third sufficient to do 
the job. Involved in this was a wealth of detail, such as 
rights of way and bridges, and the resourcefulness of the 
commission developed by its need for stretching dollars was 
fairly and squarely tested, the result being that, with 
scarcely an exception, the counties furnished these important 
elements, rights of way and, in most instances, bridges 
which must be supplied before work could begin. In the 
words of one of the Highway Commission's engineers, 
"splendid co-operation was had from all sides," and to this 
splendid co-operation the commission modestly attributes 
its success, which means that the boards of supervisors of 
nearly every California county put up money to help the 
Highway Commission in its work. 



[34] 



CHAPTER V 

TYPE OF ROAD AND CONSTRUCTION 

During all the preliminary undertakings the proper type of 
road to build was being considered and the final decision 
made that concrete was the only road which would comply 
with the statutory mandate as to permanency, so concrete 
roads were planned. Discussing the element of permanency 
it is well to quote from Mr. Fletcher. "At the outset," he 
wrote, in replying to a correspondent early in the history of 
the State Highway, "I have to confess that I know of no 
type of pavement which can be truly called 'permanent/ 
and the expression must be considered as relative only. I 
know of no pavement or roadway which does not require 
from the day it is constructed more or less expenditure for 
maintenance. If no other work is needed for the first few 
years, the roadsides, gutters, and culverts must be looked 
after." 

The specifications for construction work adopted by the 
Highway Commission for its start in concrete road building 
called for a mixture of concrete, consisting of one part 
Portland cement, two and one-half parts of sand, and five 
parts of stone, one and three-tenths barrels of cement being 
required for each cubic yard of concrete, this mixture pro- 
viding a pavement of unusual strength, it was declared. To 
demonstrate just how strong it was, some crude but practical 
tests were made of a pavement thirty-five days old of 
unsurfaced concrete, four inches in thickness, the standard 
established when the start was made in building concrete 
roads. Preparatory to the tests the earth was removed from 
under the concrete pavement for a width of two feet and 
extending in four feet from the edge. The tests were made 

[35] 



California Highways 

with a so-called ten-ton Kelly-Springfield roller, which was 
so designed that one-third of the load rested on each rear 
wheel, the rear wheels being twenty inches wide. 

In the first test the roller was run along the road, its rear 
wheel crossing the unsupported concrete twelve inches clear 
of the edge of the pavement. The second test was like the 
first except that the wheel was but six inches clear of the 
edge of the pavement. In the third test the roller was 
stopped and started with the rear wheel on the unsupported 
concrete, six inches from the edge of the pavement. There 
was no noticeable effect on the concrete in any of the first 
three tests. In the fourth test the wheel was passed over the 
unsupported concrete with its side even with the edge of the 
pavement and in the fifth it was made to pass over a block 
of wood 2x4x8 inches, laid flat twelve inches from the edge 
of the pavement and lengthwise with the road. A slight 
deflection was noticeable in both the fourth and fifth tests 
as the roller passed over the opening, but the concrete re- 
gained its original position immediately after the passing of 
the roller. 

Assuming that the weight on the block of wood was three 
and one-third tons only (it was nearer four tons probably, 
as the roller carried fuel and water), the load resting upon the 
concrete paving four inches thick was equivalent to 1666 
pounds per inch of width of bearing, the equivalent of a 
wagon with four wheels, each with four-inch tires, carrying 
a load of thirteen tons equally distributed over the four 
wheels ; this load being about four times what the pavement 
might be expected to carry under the heaviest traffic — 
assuming this to be a twenty-ton traction engine which, if of 
standard size wheels, would only impose a weight of 555 
pounds per inch. 

These tests achieved quite wide publicity and served to 
satisfy the public as to the value of the four-inch concrete 
road which, it may be said, has proved satisfactory after a 
usage of more than {ive years on all highways save those 
where the traffic is great in volume and heavy in individual 
units. On these it has proved hardly thick enough, the 

[36] 






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Type of bridge built by County cooperation on the State 
Highway in the San Joaquin Valley. 




Surfacing the Yolo Causeway. 



Type of Road and Construction 

present plan providing for a minimum of five inches, with 
six inches where the subgrade is bad. 

Encouraged by the success of the type of road laid down 
by the Highway Commission, many counties throughout 
the state began to build concrete roads, accepting mostly 
the State Highway specifications as to mix and thickness, 
so it may be fairly stated that the era of modern highways in 
California was born with the starting of the State Highway. 

Thousands of pages of technical and detailed information 
would scarcely serve to present the many and widely varied 
processes met in the actual construction work of the State 
Highway, which varied from the most intricate legal prob- 
lems involved in the practice of eminent domain to the 
applied psychology incident to bringing some stubborn 
supervisor or chamber of commerce to what was equitable 
and right. To say that the Highway Commission had easy 
sailing would be far from true, for they had many a fuss with 
this or that individual or organization, one row with a 
number of contractors engaged in city paving work upon a 
large scale becoming notable. On February 7, 19 13, these 
men addressed an open letter to the Governor declaring 
that the then bituminous wearing surface which the com- 
mission had specified for about one hundred miles of work 
was not permanent, and advocating a wearing surface of 
bituminous material not less than two inches thick. After 
full investigation the Governor responded in effect that he 
was satisfied the commission knew its business and closed 
the controversy for all time. 

The standard width of road adopted by the Highway 
Commission was fifteen feet, wider roads up to twenty-four 
feet being supplied where such volume of traffic existed as 
to justify. 

Naturally, as the California highway system developed 
and knowledge of concrete road building was augmented by 
experience certain variations took place, until at the present 
time it may be said that a one-two-four mix is commonly in 
use, an increase of twenty-five per cent in the amount of 
cement used, while the thickness of the roads has been 

[37] 



California Highways 

increased to a minimum of five inches, with six-inch pave- 
ment and transverse metal reinforcement of three-eighths- 
inch steel bars provided in such places as unsatisfactory 
subgrade conditions exist, as, for instance, adobe soil, that 
is prone to swell and shrink and crack. 

Under the original plan the roads were flat on curves 
and conformed to the standard width of fifteen feet, but 
with the development of road-building experience which has 
taken place among the engineers of the Highway Commission 
curves are now being widened, additional concrete being 
poured on the inner side, and also being banked, in common 
parlance, or, according to engineers, given a superelevation, 
the rise on the outside not being by any means such as the 
cold mathematics of highway engineering would call for; 
merely a slight tilt in the pavement to the outside of the 
curve, which makes travel vastly more pleasant and at the 
same time contributes a factor of safety such as a flat curve 
does not possess. 

Poured concrete curbs on the inside of curves also have 
been provided, which, while furnishing a certain sense of 
security, are chiefly valuable because they have a tendency 
to prevent a flow of water and consequent erosion, in some 
places spillways being provided to carry off storm water 
where conditions are such as to make them necessary. 

In laying down the concrete roads which it had adopted 
as standard for its work the matter of some surface or carpet 
treatment to prevent that wear which would inevitably 
result from iron-shod traffic engaged the attention of the 
Highway Commission's engineers and they finally adopted 
two methods of surfacing, one of these providing for a 
protecting surface, three-eighths of an inch in thickness, of 
asphaltic oil and fine crushed rock screenings, the other for a 
heavier protective covering, one and one-half inches in 
thickness, of asphaltic oil and rock up to half an inch in 
dimension. 

Over this method adopted by the State Highway 
Commission for protecting the concrete pavement 
it had laid arose the row referred to in the present 

[38] 



Type of Road and Construction 

chapter, which, as has been said, went up to the Governor 
without effect, the opinion expressed by California's Execu- 
tive being that the engineers of the Highway Commission 
knew a heap more about the technique of road building than 
he did and that he was not inclined to meddle in their affairs. 

Since that time the engineers of the Highway Commission 
have continued in the practice they started with, changing 
from asphaltic oil to one of the different grades of asphalt 
and getting a protective covering which has served fairly well, 
the plan of surfacing the concrete highways laid down being 
firmly adhered to and the tendency being to supply the best 
protective carpet consistent with economy. 

In the work of developing a highway system for California 
the State Highway Commission took over various roads that 
had been previously improved by counties and, it may be 
said, in doing so inherited a lot of grief, for these roads were 
mainly of oil-macadam construction — such as had been 
paved — which wrinkled up, like the skin on an elephant, 
under the growth of motor-driven travel, where a direct 
thrust is imposed upon road surface by heavy hind wheels, 
and gave birth to that statement which even now continues 
to crop up, that " the State Highway is going to pieces, ,, this 
declaration usually emanating from that individual who 
contends that earth roads were good enough for his "pappy" 
and forgets that the world has moved. 

These oil-macadam roads, laid under some of the earlier 
county bond issues, still remain in stretches, but are gradu- 
ally being torn up and replaced with concrete, and under the 
$40,000,000 bond issue of 191 9 provision has been made for 
the replacement of all remaining stretches of oil-macadam 
and the development of concrete pavements upon all 
stretches of the State Highway where traffic conditions 
justify. 

To the ordinary layman "permanent road improvement" 
implies a far-stretching and smooth expanse of concrete 
paving, and no doubt today there are many people in Cali- 
fornia who have a mental picture of the entire State High- 
way system in such shape, while as a matter of fact no such 

[39] 



California Highways 

possibility exists, owing to the fact that vast stretches of the 
State Highway are in mountainous regions where scarcely 
any road burden outside of light neighborhood or tourist 
traffic exists and where pavement of concrete would be an 
inexcusable waste of funds. 

In these sections, however, the State Highway Commis- 
sion has done permanent road work of the best kind, estab- 
lishing engineering lines with grades of small per cent, 
shortening distance, eliminating the up-and-down roller- 
coaster effect so common in country road building, putting 
in a culvert here, a bridge there, and paying attention 
generally to those technical details of road location, align- 
ment, drainage, etc., which combine to supply good moun- 
tain roads. Local material in many different mountain 
localities has been found and used for surfacing, with entirely 
satisfactory effect, and a standard of road width established 
which contributes not only to the pleasure of travel but 
supplies a factor of safety as well. 

Naturally in building a concrete highway system the 
matter of expansion joints came up and was considered by 
the Highway Commission, and this, as is the oft-quoted 
collision between an irresistible force and an immovable 
body, is a mighty big subject over which even engineers 
debate and quarrel, thus excusing an ordinarily intelligent 
layman from expressing an opinion one way or the other. 
Suffice it to say that the State Highway Commission has not 
put in expansion joints and does not, so far as can be dis- 
covered intend to do so, preferring to let the concrete crack 
and make its own expansion joints while on the other hand 
Stanislaus County put in expansion joints and swears 
by them and, it may be said, has mighty fine concrete 
roads while Sonoma County is planning upon doing the same. 

This being the proper point to stop discussing road type 
and technique pause is here made and the reader of technical 
bent respectfully referred to the reports of the California 
Highway Commission and the thousand and one volumes on 
highway construction which are on library shelves. 

[40] 



CHAPTER VI 

CONVICT LABOR 

In the development of the California State Highway, 
convict labor has been employed to quite an extent under 
what is known as the "Convict Labor Law" passed by the 
Legislature in 191 5, which provided that convicts might be 
employed in the construction and maintenance of the State 
Highway, this act being passed largely as a result of the 
activity of Mr. C. F. Stern, then a member of the California 
Highway Commission and afterwards State Superintendent 
of Banks. 

Such employment was purely voluntary; could only arise 
as the result of a formal application made to the Prison 
Board by some convict who desired to win his way back to 
the world of freedom by hard and continued toil; and, in 
justice to Mr. Stern, it is only fair to say that, in advocating 
the law, he was animated more by a desire to help some 
man who had made a mistake back to paths of honesty 
than by any coldly commercial benefits which the Highway 
Commission might perhaps hope to derive. 

No money incentive was offered the convict to encourage 
him to enlist in State Highway work, the only reward ac- 
cruing to him being a commutation upon his sentence of 
one day for each two calendar days spent away from prison. 
Based upon honor, for the convict applicant for State High- 
way employment was required to give his word of honor 
that he would labor faithfully and not try to escape, the 
plan has worked out more or less satisfactorily; it would 
perhaps have worked out better if control of the "honor 
men," as they have come to be known, had been centralized 
in one definite authority, instead of being divided between 

[41] 



California Highways 

the State Prison Board, which was charged with the discipline 
of the various camps, and the California Highway Commis- 
sion, which, through its engineers, was made responsible for 
the work to be done. Under the law, the California High- 
way Commission was made responsible for all of the expense 
involved in the establishment and maintenance of these 
honor camps; transportation of prisoners, food, clothing, 
medical attention, the salary of the guards who represent 
the prison authorities, costs of escapes, and rewards for 
capture being some of the items. 

Naturally, at times friction has arisen, the guards repre- 
senting the State Prison Board contending that they should 
have something to say about the work, as they are officially 
in charge of the men, while the engineers of the California 
Highway Commission, from the fact that their organization 
was footing the bills, thought that they ought to have some- 
thing to say about the running of the camp. 

In the main, however, these differences have been trivial 
and soon adjusted, the principal trouble arising from the 
fact that no man can serve two masters, which was exactly 
what the honor men were required to do, and so there has 
been a lack of esprit de corps, if that is the proper phrase 
when applied to convicts, among these men, who are not so 
different, after all is said and done, from the rest of us ; who 
did not know where the authority of the Prison Board left off, 
and that of the State Highway officials began and, not know- 
ing, became involved occasionally in some trivial squabble 
which had a tendency to lower their morale and make them 
less effective in and less inclined toward their work. 

Just what the solution of the condition described above 
may be is neither here nor there, but it is to be hoped that 
some satisfactory operative plan may be arrived at in which 
centralization of authority will exist and which will tend to 
encourage that man who has erred into a persistent struggle 
toward rehabilitation. Perhaps an allotment of money, of 
a small sum for each honest day's work, to be credited to 
each individual and paid him in a lump when he has toiled 
his way to freedom, might have an influence, in that when 

l>] 







Small tractor and scraper operated by "honor" men 




A typical convict labor scene on the California Highway 
system. 




Big slide on Rattlesnake Creek. On Rattlesnake Creek near Eel River. 





Hard rock work done by convicts. 



On South Fork of Eel River. 



Convict Labor 

his time was served, and his debt to society written off the 
books, he could face the world with a fair sum of money on 
hand, and clothes upon his back, that he had bought with 
money he had labored for, instead of a few pitiful dollars in 
the pockets of prison hand-me-downs that advertised him as 
a recently freed convict. 

In the matter of accomplishment, however, calculated 
from a financial standpoint, wherein there is no sentiment, 
the plan of using convict labor in the development of the 
California State Highway may well be judged by the data 
relative thereto in the. first biennial report of the California 
Highway Commission, which treats of the employment of 
convicts at length, in each of the three divisions where they 
have been employed. 

In Division I where the employment of convict labor 
began on September 20, 191 5, and where the total number of 
man-days worked amounted, up to December. 31, 191 8, to 
162,458, the cost per man per day figured $2.53 for each day 
actually engaged in construction work, comprising all costs, 
even that of rewards for escaped convicts, and tobacco, which 
is given each man free. Taking into consideration holidays, 
time spent in other than actual highway work, Sundays, sick 
days, and days when the weather forced the men to remain 
inactive in camp, the cost per man per day amounted only 
to $1.87, so the cost of $2.53 per day for each man actually 
employed on highway work seems reasonable indeed when 
the compensation accorded the laborer today is regarded. 
As to the amount of work done by these men, it may be 
said that they excavated of solid and loose rock 411,125 
cubic yards, and of earth and clay 336,375 cubic yards, a 
total excavation of 747,500 cubic yards, the expense involved 
being $500,077. 10, an average cost of only sixty-seven cents 
per cubic yard, which it may be said for the information of 
the uninitiate is scandalously cheap. In addition to this 
excavation work, these men constructed culverts, retaining 
walls, etc., built thirty-six and one-half miles of road in the 
most rugged place that the State Highway has yet pene- 
trated, at a cost per mile of $15,074.70, overhead expense 

[43] 



California Highways 

and engineering preliminary expense of all sorts and all 
other incidental costs being figured against the job. To 
quote Mr. Somner, the engineer of Division I: "The men 
are housed in tents and frame buildings. The camps are 
well lighted and heated. The sanitation conforms to the 
regulations of the Commission of Immigration and Housing, 
which covers everything conducive to cleanliness, health 
and comfort, including bathing facilities. The food is whole- 
some and plentiful, the convict ration not being in evidence. 
The cooks are selected from the convict labor and their 
services are satisfactory." 

As to the "convict" ration, there are those of us who have 
sat in the messroom, and broken bread with the convicts, 
and can testify to huge platters with at least two different 
kinds of meat that tasted mighty good, and several different 
vegetables well cooked and appetizing, while a casual visitor 
peeping in the door if asked to sort out the goats from the 
sheep might well have been excused for regarding the table 
where the engineering force and casual guests were gathered 
as about the most suspicious in the place. 

Continuing to quote from Mr. Somner, "the work is being 
accomplished by means of pick and shovel, and station cars, 
wheelbarrows, steam shovel, teams and scrapers, and road 
graders operated by tractors, convict labor being employed 
in all methods with the exception of the operating crew on 
the steam shovel. The drilling is accomplished by both hand 
labor and machine drills. Throughout the entire construc- 
tion more or less rock has been encountered, and drill and 
powder have been important factors in the prosecu- 
tion of the work. The blasting operations have been ex- 
tremely hazardous, involving the use of two hundred and 
fifty tons of powder, and the men have displayed a remark- 
able aptitude for this work, both in caution and efficiency. 
Only one fatal accident has occurred, for which no one was to 
blame. The prison labor has during the 'work or fight' 
period constructed an important link of the State Highway, 
through an exceptionally rugged and remote country, and 
under severe climatic conditions, as the work was continuous 

[44] 



Convict Labor 

through three winter seasons of heavy rainfall. The results, 
from both humanitarian and economic standpoints, may be 
considered as being satisfactory, and it can be said that the 
men from the California State Prison at San £)uentin 'did 
their bit toward winning the war/ " 

The work above referred to is that along Rattlesnake 
Creek and the South Fork of the Eel River, on the San 
Francisco-Eureka highway, and the accomplishment made 
by these men speaks for itself — a road in the main hewed out 
of steep-sided canyons where no trail even existed before their 
coming, and that opens up to all-year travel a region that in 
winter has been isolated and remote. It forms a worthy 
monument to those men who planned the law, as well as to 
those who profited by it, for in the building of this stretch of 
road, a few human wrecks have been made seaworthy and 
sailed out once again upon the sea of life, made buoyant and 
self-sustaining by the knowledge that they were able to do 
an honest day of toil. 

In Division II, convict labor was employed, starting in 
July, 1 91 6, when a camp was established in the Yuba River 
canyon in Sierra County. At first this camp was not a 
marked success, the dual control spoken of above serving to 
make conditions unsatisfactory until in March, 191 7, when 
the Highway Commission was put in complete charge. To 
quote Mr. Bedford, the highway engineer: "Since that time 
the organization has been so perfected, and the interest of 
the convict in the work so improved, that now (November, 
191 8) we are doing the work for one-half of what we would 
pay a contractor, or about thirty-five cents per cubic yard 
for earth excavation and fifty to sixty cents for rock. We 
are building a road twelve feet wide in excavation, and four- 
teen feet wide in embankment, and all in a rough, rugged, 
mountainous country where transportation of men and sup- 
plies is expensive in summer, and almost out of the question 
in winter. Enough supplies must be stored in camp by the 
middle of November to last until the middle of April. Just 
now the convict camp is a very efficient and money-saving 
institution. Comparing it with free labor, the convict work- 

[45] 



California Highways 

day costs about $ 1.50, while free labor costs $4.00 per day, 
and the convict will do more work than the average free 
laborer at the present time." In Division III under W. S. 
Caruthers the experience with convict work has been practi- 
cally similar to that set forth. 

So much for the hard commercial side of utilizing convict 
labor on State Highway work, and the men quoted in relation 
thereto cannot be blamed for devoting most of their con- 
sideration to the dollar-and-cent side of the subject, for they 
are employed upon an efficiency basis, and their work is a 
hard, brass-tacks, cold-blooded business employment, where- 
in they are required to deliver the goods. 

There is, however, another and a softer side to the subject, 
which renders the experience of the California Highway Com- 
mission with convict labor of interest to those soft-pated 
enough, to believe that there are other things besides dollars 
and efficiency which are worth while. Some of these convicts, 
a pitiful few perhaps, after earning their way to freedom by 
hard and continued toil, have stayed on the job in other 
camps where every man is free and earned their $4.00 a day, 
and more, perhaps, saving most of it, and investing it in 
thrift stamps, and war savings stamps and bonds, giving to 
the Red Cross, and other war activities, freely, and striving 
to accumulate a sufficient stake wherewith to make another 
start in life. Urged by the lure of freedom, a few of them 
have learned, that an honest day's work was possible of 
accomplishment, and been taught how to use muscles that 
they scarcely knew they had, with the result that a tiny 
plant of hope has thrust out roots and grown an<d flourished, 
giving them encouragement to work and save, and start forth 
unafraid upon a journey toward better things than they have 
ever known. 

Experiment it is at its present stage of development, this 
convict labor upon California highways, yet it is undoubtedly 
a start toward something better, and if through it some 
better plan should be evolved whereby prison walls may 
be avoided by the man who has made a mistake, it is unde- 
niably worth while. 

[46] 




Nothing suggests that these men are convicts. They wear 
no stripes. 




Convict camp in Mendocino County. Visitors' room 
in the base of large tree. 




On the Coast Highway south from San Francisco in San Mateo County. 



CHAPTER VII 

MAINTENANCE ROAD LOAD — SAFETY SIGNING TREE 

PLANTING CAMP SITES 

In so far as maintenance of the State Highway is concerned 
specific legislation has provided funds which, up to the 
present time, have been fairly adequate, but which, with the 
enlarged scope of California's State Highway system, will 
hardly serve to meet the needs of future years. These funds, 
derived from the state motor-vehicle tax, of which one-half 
is allotted to the State Highway Commission, the other half 
going to the different counties in which it was collected, 
amounted in 191 8 to $2,842,638.70, after collection expenses 
were deducted, the state getting $1,421,319.35, a similar 
sum being divided among the counties. 

Under maintenance in the early part of 1919 the State 
Highway Commission had approximately one thousand 
eight hundred miles of paved highway and seven hundred 
miles of mountain roads, which kept them busy, although it 
may be said that for the past few years, owing to war-time 
conditions, the maintenance fund has been used in part in 
new construction as well as in repairs. 

In applying the funds set aside for highway upkeep, 
maintenance stations have been developed in the various 
divisions of the State Highway, and from these the road is 
patrolled by maintenance crews, which are constantly at 
work keeping the shoulders along the edges of the concrete 
pavement in repair, patching up worn surfacing, filling up 
expansion cracks in the concrete, and generally emulating 
the busy bee in honest endeavor to keep the highways safe 
and pleasant for travel as well as to see that they are not 
subjected to abuse. 

[47] 



California Highways 

The abuse of highways, it may be said, is a matter of vital 
interest, not alone in California but also all over the United 
States, where paved roads are being built, for no sooner is a 
paved road laid down for reasonable traffic than some 
individual appears with an excessively large truck, burdened 
with an excessively heavy load, and proceeds to do his best 
to break it down. 

This class of individual, fortunately few in numbers but 
unfortunately to be found in every walk of life, views selfish, 
personal interest as a matter of paramount importance and 
regards legislative restrictions as things to be honored in the 
breach rather than in the observance, when they interfere 
with him. 

To restrain him and to supply corrective measures, an 
arbitrary road load has been fixed by the statutes of Cali- 
fornia, which provide that the maximum weight to be 
imposed upon the State Highway shall not exceed eight hun- 
dred pounds per inch of width of tire when such tires are of 
other material than metal, not more than six hundred 
pounds per inch of width of tire being allowed on metal tires, 
permitting a load approximating a gross weight of twelve 
and one-half tons for a five-ton truck with capacity load. 

In all conscience this load would seem to be sufficient to 
satisfy any man who uses the State Highway, yet there are 
those who no sooner find themselves supplied with a type of 
road which affords them a medium for commercially profit- 
able enterprise than they proceed to misuse it by putting 
out loads of twenty tons and upward. 

In so far as the use of California's highways by farm 
machinery is concerned regulatory statutes exist which 
require that a written permission from the Highway Commis- 
sion be had before the roads are used, this permission being 
granted under certain restrictions which provide for the 
banding of or removal of knife-blade edges on the front 
wheel of tractors and the equipment of other machinery 
with devices intended to protect the road, the main problem 
which confronts the California Highway Commission being 
the creation of a proper force of patrolmen, which, owing 

[48] 




On Ridge Route in Los Angeles County. Guard rails 
sometimes save careless drivers. 




Concrete curb^ in addition to preventing roadside wash, 
supplies a measure of safety. 




<8 fcvo 
«a « 5 



s § S 



Maintenance — Road Load — Safety — Signing 

to the lack of funds, it has not in the past been able to 
organize. 

Provision for the safety of the traveling public has been an 
ever-present thought in the general plan of California high- 
way development, every effort having been made to provide 
fool-proof roads for careless or reckless drivers. On moun- 
tain grades, at dangerous curves, and along banks in the 
straight-away where the element of danger is present in 
even slight degree, stout, white-painted guardrails have 
been and are to be more freely installed. 

These guardrails are of substantial construction, not 
strong enough of course to withstand the impact of a heavy 
car driven at a high rate of speed, but, none the less, they 
supply a sense of safety, serve the purpose for which they 
were created, of protecting and safeguarding the careful 
driver, and even, upon occasion, keeping a reckless driver 
from a thousand-foot pitch down a mountain side. 

The concrete curbs mentioned in a preceding chapter 
also supply an additional factor of safety in that they protect 
against wet-weather skid in places where danger exists for 
any machine which leaves the road, as does the custom of 
cutting off hill points where blind curves exist, a range of 
vision being afforded by this practice which enables the 
traveler to see an approaching vehicle and permits him to 
regulate his conduct accordingly. The most important step 
taken by the California Highway Commission in safe- 
guarding travel, however, deals with the elimination of 
railroad grade crossings, the original surveys of the State 
Highway being made with this object in view, and that 
success has attended the commission's efforts goes without 
saying, in Division II alone more than fifty of these danger 
spots having been supplanted by rerouting the road and the 
construction of overhead passages or subways, the cost of 
construction being borne jointly by the Highway Commis- 
sion and the railroad company, and sometimes the county 
in interest has joined in, the State Railroad Commission 
being the controlling body which permitted or ordered the 
improvement, as the case might be. 

[49] 



California Highways 

In extension of this work a squabble resulted from the 
plan adopted of putting in "skew" subways, wherever 
possible, to avoid a right-angle road turn, the Railroad 
Commission holding that a right-angle crossing would 
serve the purpose just as well from the standpoint of the 
railroad company, the "skew" crossing being primarily a 
convenience for the traveling public, establishing the rule 
that the railroad company and the state should each pay 
one-half of the cost of right-angle subways, while for "skew" 
subways one-quarter was to be charged against the railroad 
and three-quarters against the state. 

The matter of road signing forms a comparatively small 
part of the work of the State Highway Commission, which, 
while having jurisdiction of the right of way, has been 
relieved by California's two splendid automobile clubs, 
which have voluntarily assumed the burden of putting up 
distance, direction, and warning signs. 

In that portion of the state north of an imaginary line 
drawn from the ocean at the northern boundary of San Luis 
Obispo County, thence to the east slope of the Sierras, 
where it trends sharply east of north to the Nevada line, the 
California State Automobile Association, with headquarters 
at San Francisco, has forty-five of the fifty-eight counties of 
the state within its jurisdiction, these being Alameda, Alpine, 
Amador, Butte, Calaveras, Colusa, Contra Costa, Del Norte, 
El Dorado, Fresno, Glenn, Humboldt, Kings, Lake, Lassen, 
Madera, Marin, Mariposa, Mendocino, Merced, Modoc, 
Monterey, Napa, Nevada, Placer, Plumas, Sacramento, 
San Benito, San Francisco, San Joaquin, San Mateo, Santa 
Clara, Santa Cruz, Shasta, Sierra, Siskiyou, Solano, Sonoma, 
Stanislaus, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, Yolo, and 
Yuba. 

In these counties the traveler, upon both the State High- 
way and county roads, finds neat yellow-enameled metal 
signs set upon iron posts to direct him to his destination, as 
well as to warn him of dangers. In many places also, 
historical spots are marked. 

The officers of this club for 191 9 are H. R. Basford, presi- 

[50] 










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Maintenance — Road Load — Safety — Signing 

dent, San Francisco; John W. Stetson, first vice-president, 
Oakland; George S. Forderer, second vice-president, San 
Francisco; John R. Graham, third vice-president, Merced. 

The directors are, in addition to the officers already men- 
tioned, L. A. Nares, Fresno ; Percy E. Towne, San Francisco ; 
Edwin F. Merry, San Francisco; P. J. Walker, Oakland; 
M. H. de Young, San Francisco; D. H. Lafferty, Santa 
Rosa ; Burton A. Towne, Lodi ; Frank A. Cressey, Jr., Mo- 
desto; Milton Esberg, San Francisco; S. O. Walker, Visalia; 
Charles B. Bills, Sacramento; Francis Carr, Redding; Dr. 
E. W. Westphal, San Francisco; W. S. Clayton, San Jose; 
Elmer McKinnon, Salinas; George A. Campbell, Reno, 
Nevada ; the treasurer being Edwin F. Merry of San Fran- 
cisco, with D. E. Watkins as salaried manager. 

Affiliated with the American Automobile Association the 
California State Automobile Association has taken an active 
part in road development in California, has campaigned 
actively for the three State Highway bond issues, has been 
responsible for much legislation dealing with the use of 
public highways, and maintains a Good Roads Bureau, 
which has conducted ten successful county highway bond 
elections, aggregating more than fifteen million dollars, 
spoiled an otherwise good batting average by losing one, and 
has on hand a number of similar undertakings. 

The services of this bureau are supplied free to any county 
seeking the improvement of its highways, and an equipment 
probably superior to that maintained by any other good 
roads organization, consisting of moving pictures, a portable 
stereopticon outfit, bales of publicity material, and road 
statistics of every kind, is placed at the disposal of any 
county without cost. 

In southern California, where it might as well be admitted 
road improvement has outstripped all other sections of the 
state, the Automobile Club of Southern California has spent 
much money in highway legislation, development, and the 
proper signing of roads, taking part also in campaigning for 
the three State Highway bond issues. 

This club, a much older organization than the other, is an 

[51] 



California Highways 

institution of which southern Californians are justly proud 
and has within its jurisdiction the counties of Inyo, Kern, 
Los Angeles, Mono, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, 
San Diego, San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Tulare, Ventura, 
and Imperial. 

Although these counties are far fewer in number than 
those within the jurisdiction of the California State Auto- 
mobile Association, some of them make up in size the lack 
of quantity, San Bernardino County being about equal in 
size to all the New England States. 

Throughout the jurisdiction of the Automobile Club of 
Southern California an impressive road development has 
taken place, not equaled perhaps in any similar area in the 
world, for one of the principal assets of this section is a 
tourist travel that seems always to have reached its height 
yet continues in ever-increasing flow. 

With a splendid road development already achieved, the 
Automobile Club of Southern California is none the less 
continually at work on highway betterment, under the 
direction of Fred L. Baker, president; W. L. Balentine, first 
vice-president; Horace G. Miller, second vice-president; 
Standish L. Mitchell, secretary; the board of directors being 
composed of A. C. Balch, H. W. Keller, Frank P. Flint, 
E. T. Off, and Edward D. Lyman, as well as the men named. 
Working with the board of directors is an advisory board 
consisting of Frank J. Belcher, Jr., San Diego; T. B. Fuller, 
Imperial; W. L. Benchley, Orange; John H. Fisher, San 
Bernardino; Frank A. Miller, Riverside; C. A. Barlow, Kern; 
C. D. Hubbard, Santa Barbara; Ben Maddox, Tulare; Chas. 
Donlin, Ventura; Dr. W. M. Stover, San Luis Obispo; H. J. 
Nichols, Pomona; and by these two bodies much highway 
improvement has been accomplished, much road signing done 
and service rendered to automobile owners similar to that 
offered by the other club. 

Tree planting along highways, particularly in desert 
sections, is part of the plan of the California Highway Com- 
mission, and this phase of its work has already been started 
on that stretch of road south of Bakersfield on the valley 




Highway tree planting in San Mateo County, 



Maintenance — Road Load — Safety Signing 

route where for seventeen miles the concrete pavement is 
absolutely without a hairbreadth deviation from a straight 
line. This section is in practical entirety treeless desert, 
subjected to a blaze of sun when the summer is on the 
valleys, but alongside the right of way trees have been 
planted and are growing, a ten-mile pipe line furnishing the 
water to keep them thriving, and it is only a matter of a few 
years when shade will be supplied. 

In the development of its plan for tree planting the Cali- 
fornia Highway Commission is working in conjunction with 
State Forester Homans for the establishment of a tree 
nursery where young trees may be planted and cared for 
until they are ready for roadside planting. 

In taking up this phase of highway development the 
California Highway Commission is but following in the 
footsteps of others, for nearly forty years ago John McLaren, 
now the Superintendent of Golden Gate Park in San Fran- 
cisco, planted the trees which flank in stately rows the State 
Highway in San Mateo County leading south from San 
Francisco, while in other localities similar highway improve-, 
ment has been done. 

In the Southern California section tree planting and high- 
way beautification has reached an impressive development, 
palm lined avenues existing in many places. Leafy tunnels 
formed by the willow like pepper trees are to be found in 
others, while avenues flanked by stately eucalyptus trees 
are so common as scarcely to attract any attention. 

In the more remote sections of the State Highway, where 
the road leads through the mountains or along the sides of 
canyons where rivers flow, the division engineers of the State 
Highway are being encouraged to develop camping sites 
easily accessible — here a cool and refreshing spring where 
overhanging foliage makes an attractive stopping place, 
there a flat beside some brawling river where riffles sing of 
the trout that lurk in the still water back of rocks. Another 
place perhaps attracts where giant redwoods lift their trunks 
like the pillars of some vast cathedral. The oceanside, may 
be the choice of some where a sandy, far-flung beach invites 

[53] 



California Highways 

the passer-by to pause and listen to the breakers or join with 
them in play. All these are possibilities which the future 
holds in promise as highway development in California now 
made certain is advanced, and while we Californians, native 
born or immigrants from Missouri or Arkansas, if you please, 
are justly proud of our present road development, we are 
careful to assure the world that we have just begun. 



[54] 



CHAPTER VIII 

THE VARIOUS HIGHWAY COMMISSIONERS AND OFFICE 
PERSONNEL 

In the development of the California State Highway 
system various situations, and vastly puzzling ones at 
that, have from time to time arisen and are still arising, 
involving problems of psychology rather than of engineering, 
requiring the attention of diplomats rather than of engineers. 

To deal with these problems has been and still is the func- 
tion of the California Highway Commission, which seems 
always to have been able to keep work going on in spite of 
difficulties. At the very start they found it necessary to call 
upon Boards of Supervisors to eke out inadequate funds by 
supplying rights of way and bridges, and these much-abused 
bodies of men, whose portion in life seems to be brickbats 
instead of bouquets, responded gladly, bought rights of way, 
built bridges, and in some instances even built roads, and 
presented them to the Highway Commission, so that it may 
be said and in justice should be said that the California State 
Highway system is not only a monument to the men who 
built it but to the Boards of Supervisors of California as well. 

The first Commission, appointed by Governor Johnson, 
was made up of Burton A. Towne, Lodi, chairman ; Charles 
D. Blaney, Saratoga; and N. D. Darlington, Los Angeles; 
and these men, making bricks without straw, initiated the 
work of building the State Highway and served through the 
most trying period of its history. Upon the three men con- 
stituting this Commission rested the responsibility of 
selecting that type of pavement which would best meet with 
the requirements of the law as to permanency. They chose 
the concrete base, and time has justified their choice. To 

[55] 



California Highways 

get money they were dependent upon the sale of bonds, which 
could not legally be sold for less than par and could not com- 
mercially be sold at par. They called upon their friends the 
Boards of Supervisors and these men bought the bonds. 

So they practiced high finance and got the work started, 
sent survey parties out and generally got busy, with the 
result that Chairman Burton A. Towne started work on the 
first State Highway concrete paving job in California near 
San Mateo on August 7, 191 2, since which time something 
like fifteen hundred miles of concrete pavement has been laid. 

On January 19, 19 14, Mr. Towne, finding that he must 
devote some time to his own personal affairs, resigned, and 
Charles F. Stern, of Eureka, was named to succeed him, 
Mr. Blaney being elected chairman. Just what connection 
Charles D. Blaney had with the California Highway Com- 
mission every good-roads enthusiast in California knows; 
and, while many of them had pitched battles with him over 
this matter or that, they invariably wound up by developing 
for him a sincere affection as a man and a great respect for 
him as a fighter for what he thought was right. 

Mr. Blaney resigned from the Commission on March 6, 
1 9 17, because he had overworked himself with State High- 
way affairs to such an extent as to jeopardize his health; and 
Henry J. Widenmann, of Vallejo, was named to take his 
place, while Mr. Darlington was elected chairman. 

Mr. Widenmann's connection with the Commission was 
all too brief, yet while he served he played his part well and 
creditably, having a host of personal friends throughout the 
state whose interest he was able to enlist in State Highway 
affairs; and when he died, in October, 191 8, as the result of 
an accident while hunting, he was widely mourned. 

To succeed Mr. Widenmann, Mr. Charles E. Whitmore, of 
Visalia, was named, and shortly after his appointment, Mr. 
Stern resigned, having been appointed State Superintendent 
of Banks by Governor Stephens. In his connection with the 
Commission the policy of employing convicts upon State 
Highway work was adopted, he being largely responsible for 
securing the needed legislation. 

[56] 










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Abuse of State Highway. 



Highway Commissioners and Office Personnel 

Upon the retirement of Mr. Stern, Emmett Phillips, of 
Sacramento, was appointed on December 30, 191 8, and 
during his brief connection with the Highway Commission 
took an active part in the development of the $40,000,000 
bond issue, but died in June, 19 19, before the bond issue was 
passed. 

To Mr. Phillips* place Governor Stephens appointed Mr. 
George C. Mansfield, of Oroville, the Commission at the end 
of 1 91 9 being made up of Mr. Darlington as chairman, Mr. 
Whitmore, and Mr. Mansfield, with Wilson R. Ellis as 
secretary, the present chairman having been a member of 
the original Commission of 19 11 and having served through 
various vicissitudes until at last sufficient funds have been 
provided for completion of that work which eight years ago 
scarcely seemed more than a dream. 

The experience thus gained by Mr. Darlington well fits 
him to pilot State Highway affairs through the prosperous 
years that now befall the Commission, and having been an 
anchor to windward in time of stress and storm, he is amply 
competent to preside when big undertakings are to follow in 
the train of ample funds. 

To say that the troubles of the California Highway Com- 
mission are over is far from true, and just as much diplomacy 
is required of it today as formerly; yet, with funds sufficient 
to prosecute the work with reasonable diligence, the main 
burden is lightened, and all that the commission needs to do 
to be happy is to build everybody's road first. 

Messrs. Whitmore and Mansfield, being newspaper men, 
are schooled in trouble and also versed, it may be said, in 
diplomatic undertakings, and with the experience gained by 
Mr. Darlington in his long service to guide it, the California 
Highway Commission of 1920 will face its best year and 
make marked progress toward that time when every main 
avenue of travel in California shall be a paved highway. 

In the achievement of this to-be-desired time certain 
engineering undertakings of course have been and will be 
necessary, and to this end Mr. Fletcher, the highway en- 
gineer, has surrounded himself with a headquarters organi- 

[57] 



California Highways 

zation of no mean caliber, his principal helper being George 
R. Winslow, whose title, somewhat imposing, is First Assist- 
ant Highway Engineer. In every big organization there is 
always some one individual whose duty it is to deal with 
points of law, and this duty rests upon C. C. Carlton, 
attorney for the Commission, who devotes his entire time 
to State Highway work. 

The assistant engineers in the headquarters office are, at 
the end of 191 9, R. H. Stalnaker and William J. Gough, the 
office engineer being A. J. Wagner, while Ralph E. Dodge is 
the engineer having charge of all State Highway bridgework, 
the engineer in charge of testing and other laboratory work 
being Fred T. Maddocks. The assistant secretary and dis- 
bursing officer is Mrs. H. M. Davidson, the chief accountant 
being Herman B. Weaver, and the purchasing agent being 
Lowell B. Smith, through whose hands all the multiplicity 
of detail involved in the procuring of supplies must pass. In 
charge of the photographic department, map photography, 
etc., is E. M. Muse, and the fact that a great majority of this 
force has served since the organization of the headquarters 
office speaks well both of their loyalty and efficiency and 
makes certain that whenever an accounting may be called 
for and efficiency investigated a strict summing up of 
stewardship will be promptly rendered in detail. 



[58] 



CHAPTER IX 

DIVISION I THE ELIMINATION OF THE BELL SPRINGS GRADE. 

This subdivision of the State* Highway with headquarters 
at Willits, Mendocino County, comprises the coast 
counties of Mendocino, Humboldt, and Del Norte and the 
inland county of Lake. 

It extends from the north line of Sonoma County, ninety 
miles north of San Francisco County, to the Oregon line. 
In topography this division is mountainous, although a 
myriad of little valleys with as rich soil as exists any place 
in California are to be found, the copious and never failing 
winter rainfall making the entire area susceptible of agri- 
cultural development while fruits of various kinds grow with 
marked degree of perfection upon the deep-soiled side hills. 

Immediately upon the organization of the State Highway 
Commission, Mr. F. G. Somner was put in charge of this 
Division, as Division Engineer, and from that time has been 
continuously in charge. It may be also said that he has been 
kept busy emulating the parable of the "Loaves and Fishes" 
trying to build a maximum road mileage with a minimum of 
money, hampered in his work by isolation from source of 
supply as well as by the topographical nature of the county 
which was characterized by hillsides prone to slide under the 
heavy winter rains. 

Until 1 9 14, when the line of the Northwestern Pacific 
Railway was extended to Eureka in Humboldt County, 
Mendocino County was the only one of the three to have 
rail communication with the outside world, Willits being the 
northern terminus of this road. 

From this point the journey to Eureka, which in 1914 had 
a population of fifteen thousand, being one of California's 

[59] 



California Highways 

principal coast towns and one of the greatest lumber- 
manufacturing centers on the Pacific Coast, was something 
of ill repute in summer when only dust had to be contended 
with, but in winter, when the ample rainfall of the region was 
pouring down and snow piled up on the higher reaches of the 
road it was something to be avoided at all cost. 

There was, of course, an alternative route by steamer from 
San Francisco, but this trip, over sadly rough waters and a 
notoriously evil bar before which steamers lay hove to for 
hours and even days sometimes, waiting a chance to cross 
in, made those upon whom unkind nature had imposed a 
susceptibility to seasickness choose the lesser evil of the 
horse-drawn stage, which traveled, when it was able to 
travel at all, upon the following winter schedule: 

First day. From Willits, leaving about noon by logging 
train to Sherwood, thence by stage to Laytonville. 

Second day. Laytonville to Harris. 

Third day. Harris to Blocksburg. 

Fourth day. Blocksburg to Carlotta. 

Fifth day. Carlotta to Eureka by logging train. 

In making this trip the journey carried the traveler over 
the widely known and vastly infamous Bell Springs Grade, 
the beginning of which, on the south slope, was at Cummings 
on what was known as the Rattlesnake grade, where the 
elevation was one thousand three hundred fifteen feet above 
sea level. From this point ascending and descending grades, 
many of them exceeding twenty per cent, lifted the road up 
two thousand seven hundred eighty-five feet to the twelve- 
mile distant summit where an altitude of four thousand one 
hundred feet was reached. 

Arriving at the top and enthused by the view, the novice 
might suppose his troubles were over, but such was far from 
being the case, for the down grade to Dyerville, forty-six 
miles distant, involved a drop of three thousand nine hundred 
thirty-eight feet during which the twenty per cent grades of 
the south slope were rendered cheap and unimportant by 
ascending and descending grades up to thirty per cent — 
almost one foot in three! 

[60] 




In the Mendocino Redwoods. Division Engineer 
Somner. 




A rerouting of this State Highway line eliminated two 
grade crossings. Old road to right. 




The Scotia bridge across Eel River on the State Highway. 
Humboldt County helped pay for this bridge. 




Another view of Scotia bridge. Note the automobile on 
right span and angler below. 



Division I 

For more than twenty years, prior to the creation of the 
California State Highway Commission, the elimination of 
the Bell Springs grade had been talked of and considered 
and even, at one time, the point was reached when a co- 
operative county plan was seriously discussed. But when a 
reconnaissance was made and the cost of the undertaking 
stated brutally in terms of dollars and cents the plan was 
promptly dropped for the reason that neither of the counties 
interested wished to go bankrupt with the job half done. 

To discuss the Willi ts-Eureka stage trip in winter is 
perhaps not strictly within the sphere of this book, but 
there are those among us who have a recollection of two, 
sometimes four, steaming horses dragging an empty stage 
up some of the most abrupt pitches of the route, encouraged 
by a driver who conversed with his flock, using those time- 
honored flowers of eloquence with which a beneficent nature 
seems to endow stage drivers and Mississippi River steam- 
boat mates as reported by Mark Twain, while, behind, a 
sad assemblage toiled slowly on and upward, lifting with 
each step and taking with them what mud desired to go 
along, and only failing to raise up a chorus to the chanting 
of the driver because they needed all the breath they had 
for purposes of locomotion. 

Such was the Bell Springs grade prior to 1914, and when 
the division engineer had need to go to Eureka in the early 
stages of his work when the road, in the language of those 
conversant with conditions, was "kind of sticky," which 
meant that it couldn't be traveled at all, he used to proceed 
north by taking the train due south from Willits to San 
Francisco, one hundred thirty-nine miles distant, and thence 
by a two-hundred-fifty-mile boat voyage complete his trip, 
a total journey of about four hundred miles to get to a place 
distant only about one hundred forty-five miles from his 
starting point. 

The elimination of this grade and the laying out of a road 
built upon engineering lines was the principal job which Mr. 
Somner, the engineer put in charge of Division I, found 
in his office when he assumed charge, and the route he 

[61] 



California Highways 

selected, which now is entirely graded and open for travel 
except as now and then a sliding hillside over the roadway- 
lets go and comes down, blocking travel for a little while, 
departs from the old road at Cummings where the weary- 
climb over the Bell Springs grade began. 

From Cummings, where, as has been stated, the elevation 
is one thousand three hundred fifteen feet, the new road 
drops on a gradual grade, which in no place exceeds six per 
cent, to Dyerville, 70.4 miles distant, where the elevation 
is one hundred sixty-two feet, the route selected by Mr. 
Somner leading down Rattlesnake Creek to its junction 
with the south fork of the Eel River, and thence along the 
Eel River to where it pours its waters into the Pacific Ocean, 
near Loleta, but a short distance to the south of Eureka. 

Sounding simple enough in the telling, the construction of 
the road between Cummings and Dyerville was the big 
job of Division I and when Mr. Somner started out on 
those preliminary reconnoiterings which finally wound up 
in the selection of the route, he found that those mountain- 
goat qualities with which all good mountain-road building 
engineers seem to be endowed came in very handy, for a 
good part of the route led through a sheer canyon where a 
slip or a misstep meant a long fall into none too placid 
waters, not to mention an unavoidable association with the 
inhabitants of Rattlesnake Creek, whence it derives its name. 

Along this creek, to its junction with the south fork, the 
canyon was straight-sided, and along the south fork a 
similar condition prevailed, only more so, the canyon walls 
being vastly higher, but somehow or other the preliminary 
view was made and the route adopted, whereupon those cog- 
wheels of highway building known as transit men, rod men, 
and chainmen, all of them being second cousins to the 
chamois, sallied forth, and, clinging to hillsides that would 
seem to afford a basis of operations for nothing less sure- 
footed than a fly, ran their lines, set their stakes, and joy- 
fully proceeded to whoop up their part of the job. 

To add to the joys incidental to the construction of this 
stretch of the road it may be said that the canyon sides 

[62] 




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Along Klamath River. 

. , IP 



Along Eel River. 





Government Engineers. 



State Highway Engineers. 



Division I 

were mostly "slidy" and that when the bench-like roadbed 
was hacked out of the mountain side the hill above, in many 
instances, let go all holds and slid down, blotting out the 
road completely. During the first two winters, after this 
stretch of road was carved out of the canyon side, more than 
three hundred thousand cubic yards of earth came down, 
which means, a cubic yard of earth containing twenty-seven 
cubic feet, that a mass of earth nine feet wide and nine feet 
high and a tiny fraction less than nineteen miles long had to 
be cleaned out before it could be said to be once more a road. 

Aside from the difficulties of construction involved in 
building down the Rattlesnake and Eel, the matter of bridges 
was perhaps of next importance, among them Cedar Creek 
bridge, three hundred fifty feet in length, one hundred thirty- 
five feet in height; Rock Creek bridge, two hundred ten feet 
long and one hundred forty-five feet high; and two crossings 
of the South Fork, each three hundred fifty feet long. 

The remoteness of the locality and the absence of any 
method of transportation made steel bridges an impossibility 
while vast redwood forests close at hand supplied plenty of 
lumber, so it was that a sawmill was dragged in and set up 
with vast labor and timber bridges built, one of them, the 
Rock Creek bridge, a timber arch of unique design being 
erected without the use of any false work and the only 
structure of its type in the United States. 

That there were and are other engineering difficulties 
existent in this division goes without saying, but none of 
them stands shoulder high with those involved in the 
elimination of the Bell Springs grade, and now that this 
particularly tough job is done, most of the going is easy 
except in that part of the line from Eureka north along the 
Trinidad Coast to Crescent City. 

This work has been surveyed, and it may be said that Mr. 
Somner once again enjoyed the pleasures of mountain 
engineering when making the reconnaissance through Del 
Norte County. For miles and miles the location runs along 
the rugged ocean shore where precipitous mountains tumble 
steeply into the waves, and upon one memorable occasion, 

[63] 



California Highways 

when, with a companion he was clambering along the 
precipitous bluff on water level, the rising tide left but one 
way out and that up. Unable to hear each other because 
of a driving rainstorm and roaring breakers, or to see each 
other because of the night which had come down they be- 
came separated and for twenty-four hours the world knew 
them not, during which brief period of time Mr. Somner 
climbed, according to his best recollections, about forty 
miles straight up in the air. 

In the section named, along the coast north of Eureka, 
reaching to Crescent City, the county seat of Del Norte 
County, the survey has been made and construction work is 
under way in parts, the same condition existing in relation to 
the lateral into Lakeport over the Free Road grade which, 
while not presenting any particularly vivid engineering 
difficulties, has none the less been delayed until in the fall 
of 1 91 9 when all contracts for this 19.5 mile stretch of road 
have been let. 

Without the work in Del Norte County, or that involved 
in the Lakeport lateral, the division engineer of this division 
has had about all the troubles he wanted in building a 
passable highway into Eureka, the main center of population 
in his district, and when this is done, he will be free, save in 
those harassing periods when adjacent hills slide down into 
the road, to engage himself with those engineering joys 
which await him along the extreme northern coast of 
California, and to apply himself diligently to supplying the 
people of Del Norte County with what they have longed for, 
a real road, not to mention the people of Lake County, who 
after years of waiting have acquired a stock of patience which 
would make Job ashamed, and still hope, happily with some 
reason now that work has actually started, for a three-hundred- 
sixty-five-day road leading to the outer world. 



[64] 




In Yuba River Canyon on Downieville lateral in Sierra 
County. 




■**t* 




State Highway through Dunsmuir. Office of Division II 
on right. 




In the canyon of the Sacramento River. (Before.) 




In the canyon of the Sacramento River. {After.) 



CHAPTER X 

DIVISION II BUILDING THE STATE HIGHWAY UP THE SACRA- 
MENTO RIVER CANYON. 

This division of the California State Highway is situated 
in the extreme northern and eastern part of the state 
and takes in the counties of Trinity, Tehama, Shasta, Siskiyou, 
Lassen, and Modoc. In its southern central portion is the 
upper end of the Sacramento Valley, which narrows in just 
above Redding and attenuates into a rugged gorge down 
which the waters of the Sacramento River pour. To the 
east and north and west of this valley are mountains amply 
rugged enough in character to test the soul of any road- 
building engineer, yet road development in this district, in 
so far as the main trunk line is concerned, is well advanced. 

The man in charge of this division is Mr. T. A. Bedford, 
whose headquarters are at Dunsmuir and who, it may be 
said, prefers mountain road-building, with its tinge of 
adventure, to the more prosaic and less laborious con- 
struction of concrete roads upon the flat. 

The main job which Mr. Bedford found before him when 
he assumed charge of this division involved the construc- 
tion of a link in that great valley line which, originating near 
San Diego on the Mexican border, climbs over the Tehachapi 
Mountains, traces its way through the vast flat of the San 
Joaquin and Sacramento valleys, and finally sweeps trium- 
phantly over the Siskiyous into Oregon; no particular diffi- 
culties presenting themselves in the upper part of the 
Sacramento Valley, which terminates at Redding, the county 
seat of Shasta County. 

From this point, however, all of the varied joys of moun- 
tain road-building were offered Mr. Bedford, and when he 

[65] 



California Highways 

started out on a reconnaissance of the country, preparatory 
to putting survey parties in the field, he went mostly afoot, 
climbing up to the top of a high mountain now and then, to 
get a bird's-eye view of the country, clambering like a fly 
along abrupt walls where the swift waters of the Sacramento 
River had channeled through the rock, and eventually select- 
ing a line which led due north to the east of the Sacramento 
Canyon, crossed the Pit River near its junction with the 
McCloud, and followed the latter gorgeous trout water up to 
a place where a climb over an easy graded saddle in the 
mountains enabled him to reach the canyon of the Sacra- 
mento at a location where road-building was a financial — as 
well as a human — possibility. 

In laying out this line up the McCloud it may be said that 
Mr. Bedford pioneered the way through primeval places, not 
even a trail existing, and when he swung his line to the 
west and entered into the Sacramento Canyon he spanned 
the river and the main line tracks of the Southern Pacific 
Railway with one structure, the plan of eliminating railroad 
grade crossings being one of his most pronounced engineer- 
ing hobbies. 

The fact that the new line from Redding to Oregon has 
done away with fifty of these danger spots suggests that Mr. 
Bedford has stuck to his hobby, no matter how it bucked. 

From the point where the new road reached the Sacra- 
mento River, no particular difficulties such as would in- 
timidate a man who liked to build roads in the mountains 
appeared: the line adopted leading up the west wall of the 
canyon, now hanging high above the tracks of the Southern 
Pacific; now above some sheer drop into the river which the 
railroad company, having ample funds at its disposal, had 
avoided by a bridge. The only fly in the ointment was that 
the railroad had got in first, preempted all the easy going, 
built a water-grade roadbed and forced the State Highway 
up on to a hillside so steep in places that occasionally, when 
some enthusiastic and not overcareful contractor put an 
extra bit of powder in a "shot," two -or three carloads of 
boulders would arise and fly down on to the railroad right 

[66] 




Klamath River bridge. 





Bridge over Sacramento River. 



STATE; LINE 




i?of£ wall protection on Pit River. 



Division Engineer Bedford. 




r 

1 



Division II 

of way, contrary to the peace and dignity of the State of 
California, which didn't care particularly, and to the great 
mental perturbation of the United States Railroad Com- 
mission, which did care, and arose and injuncted the guilty 
parties from similar felonious acts. 

At any rate Mr. Bedford had a lot of fun building the road 
up through the Sacramento Canyon, as much fun perhaps 
as any automobile owner will ever have in driving over it, 
even though it is scenically gorgeous and under the 191 9 
State Highway bond issue is to be paved with concrete to 
the Oregon line. 

The northern terminus of this particular stretch, which 
involved the canyon of the Sacramento River, may properly 
be regarded as Dunsmuir; the line from this point climbing 
to a great upland plateau boxed in by mountains on all 
sides, the south wall being made up of Black Butte and 
Mount Shasta, with the Sierra Nevadas to the east, the 
Coast Range to the west, and the Siskiyous rising like a 
barrier on the north. 

Over this plateau, in sight of the snow-capped peak of 
Shasta for miles and miles, road-building was an easy matter, 
comparatively, to Yreka, county seat of Siskiyou County, 
where -the farthest north concrete street in California leads 
the highway through the town. From Yreka, near which 
place the roadway drops into the canyon of the Shasta River, 
Mr. Bedford once more enjoyed some sure enough road- 
building; getting down to the level of the Klamath River 
through a country that was virgin save for jack rabbits and 
occasional rattlesnakes being no inconsiderable job. 

In reconnoitering this stretch of road Mr. Bedford, who 
seems by nature inclined to be a mountaineer, found a con- 
veniently adjacent hill which towered above all other 
eminences around and scaled it, finding that the view dis- 
closed a feasible road location throughout the entire length 
of the Shasta Canyon to its juncture with the Klamath, at 
which point the man ordained to cast a fly with profit to 
himself may fish. 

From the Klamath River to the Oregon line the main 

[67] 



California Highways 

construction problem was a climb up the south slope of the 
Siskiyous which involved heavy grading, in some places 
figuring up to $20,000 a mile, this road being graded and 
open to travel in 191 8, further perfected in 1919 and supplied 
with sufficient funds, under the $40,000,000 State Highway 
bond issue of 191 9, for concrete paving throughout. 

From this main line, which constitutes the principal road 
in Division II, various laterals spread out to east and west; 
on the west being the Trinity lateral which reaches Weaver- 
ville, the county seat of Trinity County, passing en route 
the old-time mining town of Shasta, and extends to the 
Coast Highway at a point north of Eureka; the construction 
of this road being a joint affair, with the state, Trinity and 
Humboldt Counties and the United States each contributing 
to the general jack pot. No particular difficulties, that do 
not everywhere attach to mountain road-building, exist 
in this locality and this road, under construction in 1919, 
will supply a needed access to the coast from upper Sacra- 
mento Valley points. South of the Trinity lateral is the 
Peanut Road already built, a state road supplied to connect 
two counties neither of which had funds to do the job, this 
road, with the road systems of Trinity and Humboldt 
Counties reaching Eureka by an alternative route. To the 
north of the Trinity lateral a new road, proposed under the 
1 91 9 bond issue, leaves the main trunk line at the Klamath 
River, follows the gorge of this tumbling stream to the 
westward and to the south through the Klamath National 
Forest, affording unexpected joys both to Mr. Bedford's 
force and to the engineers of the United States Forest 
Service; a good part of the reconnaissance work being made 
by canoes with which, in the main, good luck sailed, other 
parts of the preliminary investigating necessary involving 
flywise progress along the face of sheer uplifting walls. 

The expense of this road is shared jointly by the State and 
Government and during those preliminary undertakings, 
which involved deciding upon the layout of roads to be 
taken care of under California's 1919 bond issue, govern- 
mental red tape was for once fractured to the amazement of 

[68] 







Si 



f< 






Division II 

all beholders and Government engineers for once took a 
hand in the general wire pulling, being forced into this 
unseemly attitude, perhaps, by the fact that certain ex- 
istent Government funds have been set aside to build this 
road if the state would contribute an equal sum. 

At any rate this road is to be built, and preliminary re- 
connaissance work has been done. In general, the way lies 
along the canyon of the Klamath River, in most instances 
the country through which the line passes is straight up 
and down and there is scarcely any doubt that Mr. Bedford 
views with undiluted pleasure another mountain road- 
building job. True enough the job is only partly his, the 
young men of the engineering department of the Forest 
Service having canoed and climbed throughout the entire 
canyon, yet morally certain is it that Mr. Bedford will be 
on the spot when work begins and will undoubtedly keep 
an eye on the general road-building scheme. 

To the east of the main trunk line in Division II are two 
county seat laterals, the one reaching from Redding to 
Alturas in Modoc County, the other to Susanville in Lassen 
County, leaving the main line at Red Bluff. Neither of these 
roads involves any particular difficulty other than that 
comprehended in getting sufficient funds, which, happily, 
has ceased to be an issue. In the past, however, this for- 
tunate condition did not prevail and while much good work 
has been done the main grief which existed was involved in 
the fact that Division II, with about the biggest road 
mileage of any division, was the Lazarus at the rich man's 
door and about all it got so far as cash is concerned was 
crumbs. 

Both the Alturas lateral and the Susanville lateral are 
important, reaching into a country that is remote, sparsely 
settled, possessing scarcely any county road funds, and 
almost entirely dependent for connection with the outside 
world upon the State Highway. Both of these laterals 
reach altitudes where snow falls in winter, the one to the 
north of Lassen Peak, the other almost at its very base 
to the south, and in their development the only road con- 

[6 9 ] 



California Highways 

struction contemplated is such as will supply engineering 
grades, permanent bridges, and culverts, in short a modern 
mountain highway of safe width and wide-swung curves 
over which pleasure travel can flow safely and the resident 
of the district can gain access to the outside world. 

In addition to the counties formally allotted to his district, 
Mr. Bedford has been placed, temporarily, in charge of 
certain road-building operations in Butte County, where the 
Plumas County lateral leading to Quincy, the county seat, 
originates at Oroville, and in Nevada and Yuba Counties, 
through which the Sierra County lateral reaching Downie- 
ville passes. 

Both these laterals involve mountain road-building 
problems. Both of them are situated in remote localities, 
and both of them are being built under the direction of Mr. 
Bedford, who is having no end of fun with them, in the 
summer of 191 9, even though they are properly within the 
jurisdiction of Mr. W. S. Caruthers, engineer of Division 
III. 

In the road work already done in his division, Mr. Bedford 
has pursued a practice that should endear him to the man 
who considers a camp outfit a proper adjunct for an auto- 
mobile trip. Whenever possible, he has dropped a side road 
down to some pleasant camping spot, here to a little flat 
along some brawling trout stream, there to a nook under- 
neath high-lifting pines, and in another place to some ice- 
cold spring. 

Without any particular sanction of the commission, 
which being made up of business men applies its funds 
according to the strict letter of the law, the men who work 
for and with Mr. Bedford, in the noon hour, perhaps, or 
when a few spare moments appeared, have spent a little 
time in work not strictly within their line of duty and made 
accessible to travelers many an attractive spot. 



[70] 




This photograph of Shasta Canyon was made during 
preliminary survey. 




State Highway down canyon of Shasta River. 




■a. 



R 



S-.| 
R £ 



^ 



^ 



.^0 R 






CHAPTER XI 

DIVISION III — THE BUILDING OF THE SACRAMENTO- YOLO 

CAUSEWAY 

This division of the State Highway is, in 191 9, and 
has been since its establishment, in charge of Mr. W. S. 
Caruthers as division engineer. It takes in the counties of 
Glenn, Butte, Colusa, Yolo, Solano, San Joaquin, Stanislaus, 
Tuolumne, Calaveras, Amador, El Dorado, Placer, Alpine, 
Nevada, Sierra, Plumas, Yuba,. Sutter, and Sacramento, its 
headquarters being in Sacramento. 

Within its boundaries is practically all of that region of 
California where gold was produced in the days of '49, where 
much mountain road-building is yet to be done and wherein 
are situated some of the most popular outing places in the 
state. It has, in the past, been hampered by lack of funds, 
as have all the other divisions of the State Highway, and in 
the road work which has been done attention was devoted, 
in the main, to the development of highways in those valley 
sections wherein were links of main lines of travel or where 
such a traffic congestion existed as to demand the construc- 
tion of paved roads. Throughout the length of Division III 
from north to south, the main highway forms a link in the 
valley route from Mexico to Oregon, this link being paved 
by different counties in places when the State Highway 
came into being and the roads thus existent being made to 
serve as long as possible. In its reach north from Sacra- 
mento, this main trunk line lay on the east side of the 
Sacramento River to the Tehama County line, another main 
trunk highway trending up the west side of the Sacramento 
River and forming a direct route by way of the Sacramento 
Valley from San Francisco to Oregon, the two routes joining 

[71] 



California Highways 

a few miles to the north of the Tehama County line in 
Division II. 

Between the east and west side lines, especially in the 
vicinity of Sacramento, was a vast area of lowlands through 
which the overflow waters of the Sacramento, the Yuba, the 
American, the Feather, and the Bear rivers poured when the 
piled-up snows of the Sierras ran off in spring and early 
summer, and for years, from the days when Marshall dis- 
covered gold up until 1 91 6, Sacramento, the capital of 
California, was as isolated from the west side of the Sacra- 
mento River, save for a few months each year, as though it 
were two hundred miles away. 

Correcting this condition was Mr. Caruthers' big job, a 
job well and creditably done now and which constitutes one 
of the engineering accomplishments of the California High- 
way Commission. And where once was a place impossible 
of crossing, a great marshy district three miles wide by 120 
miles long and flooded for all but a few months of each year, 
now is a three-mile trestle over which traffic flows to and fro 
day in, day out, in spite of floods. 

In the old days — and these days were prior to 1910, not so 
long ago — the crossing of this overflow district was a dream 
that seemed a far way off. Even in 1913 a trip over the 
State Highway from Sacramento to San Francisco involved a 
circuitous route of 130 miles by way of Stockton- In a 
bulletin published by the California Highway Commission 
under date of May 1, 1913, this interesting statement 
appears: "There is now no crossing across the Sacramento 
River north of Sacramento, except for about three months 
in the fall of the year, until one reaches Meridian Ferry, a 
point about 18 miles west of Marysville. One must travel 
not less than 70 miles from Sacramento to reach that ferry. 

"Thus communication by wagon road between the rapidly 
growing and prosperous sections on the west side of the 
Sacramento River in Yolo, Colusa, and Glenn Counties with 
Sacramento, the capital of the state, is to all intents and 
purposes cut off. 

"From Sacramento to Davis is about 12.8 miles, but the 

l>] 



Division III 

cost of bridging the great Yolo Basin which receives the over- 
flow of the Sacramento River, has heretofore prevented the 
construction of this important road. 

"During the coming year the Commission hopes to let 
contracts for the construction of this link. Not less than 
12,000 feet of trestle work will be required and there will be 
much heavy grading required. 

"When this link is completed, not only will the west side 
counties be able to reach the state capital conveniently, but 
the distance between Sacramento and San Francisco will be 
reduced from 130 to about 100 miles." 

In contemplating this statement of the California High- 
way Commission it is interesting to look back once again to 
the Bureau of Highways of '95 and '96 with the wonderful 
road plan they laid out, for on the map they drew up after the 
trip through the state with the buckboard and old Maje, 
mentioned in Chapter II, is this selfsame road plan,a crossing 
of the overflow area to the north and west of Sacramento, 
now regarded by the present Highway Commission as 
one of its most important accomplishments. Across this 
overflow area, prior to 19 13 and for how many years previous 
no one knows, for a few months each year, when the waters 
had subsided from the face of the earth and the rich adobe 
soil had dried out under the sun, there was a way known as 
Tule Jake's road, a concatenation of ruts and bumps and 
general discomfort that led through the cat-tails and was 
always rough because traveled over when the adobe was 
drying out. Perhaps Tule Jake was a contemporary of the 
Bureau of Highways, for its map shows a crossing of the 
Yolo Basin just about where the road is today. At any rate 
with this major problem in his division Mr. Caruthers 
addressed himself to it; the plans for its solution were drawn 
up in the offices of the California Highway Commission and 
on March 18, 191 6, travel flowed over a trestle, built of 
precast concrete piling upon which were set precast concrete 
slabs forming a roadway 21 feet wide in the clear, with con- 
crete curbing and stout iron guard-rail. This road was 
16,538 feet in length, 2432 feet of the total length being of 

[73] 



California Highways 

timber construction for the reason that some day a levee to 
define the westerly margin of the Yolo By-pass is to supply a 
banked-up road. 

To deal with the technical details of this great accomplish- 
ment is not within the purpose of this book, yet it is in- 
teresting to know that the reinforced concrete piles upon 
which it rests are from 32 to 50 feet long; that they were 
cast at one spot and transported to the needed point by a 
specially built narrow-gauge railway and that they are 
driven into the ground to an average depth of 20 ftet. 
Nearly 1100 carloads of material were used in the work, 
including 21,692 tons of crushed rock, 12,553 tons of sand, 
32,000 barrels of cement, and 2200 tons of reinforcing steel; 
the total cost of the trestle being #394,000, while under 
present prices it would cost $ 1,000,000 at the very least. 

To end this discussion of the Yolo-Sacramento Causeway 
without giving credit to Yolo County for the part it played 
therein would not be just. This county, under the law 
which provided that interest charges upon State Highway 
funds expended in any county must be met by the county 
in which such funds were spent, gladly assumed the heavy 
burden which resulted therefrom, although the work was 
beneficial to the state at large rather than locally; and it is 
pleasant to relate that this attitude has been appreciated 
and that Yolo County has been reimbursed by statute for 
past funds supplied and relieved from any future charge. 

In addition to the Yolo-Sacramento Causeway, Mr. 
Caruthers found a lot of other things to do in his division, 
for that matter, is still finding them. Under the 19 19 State 
Highway bond issue a new and very important cross-state 
road, the Tahoe-to-Ukiah highway, was confided to his care, 
and, inasmuch as this road is the pet project of a very active 
and enthusiastic crowd of good-roads boosters whose sole 
purpose in life is to have it completed instanter and at once, 
he will, no doubt, have his hands full. In addition to this 
road, a road from Truckee, in part down the Truckee River, 
that most blessed of trout streams, to the Nevada line near 
Verdi, is also pleasantly engaging his attention. The fact 

[74] 




1? 






-Tifcl 




Inspecting method of ponding concrete roads. Left to 
right — Senator Moser of Oregon. Division Engineer 
Caruthers, Office Engineer Dodge, G. Cameron Parker, 
Dominion of Canada Department of Highways. 




State Highway in Colusa County. 



Division III 

that he has 19 counties in his division, each of which must, 
by law, have its county seat connected with the main 
trunk line of the State Highway, tends to keep him well 
supplied with work for some time in the future, as does the 
further fact that within his division lie some of the most 
popular touring trips in California, where automobile travel 
reaches a huge volume in summer and plays havoc with the 
only type of road which, so far, he has been able to build. 

Taken all in all, there are no vastly harassing jobs facing 
Mr. Caruthers now since the overflow area of the Sacra- 
mento River has been bridged, and throughout most of that 
section of his district which lies in the valley proper, con- 
crete highways are almost 100 per cent put in. 

In the mountainous parts of his territory, however, much 
road work is to be done; that ever-lengthening ribbon of 
concrete which goes to make up the extent of the California 
State Highway system must be pushed out here and there; 
his tourist roads must be paved, where tourist travel gathers 
in heavy volume, as toward Lake Tahoe both over the 
Placerville route and by way of Auburn and Truckee; and 
there is no danger that he will lack for work for some time 
to come. 

Also the tearing up of oil macadam roads, which open- 
hearted counties gave the State Highway, will further serve 
to hold him for a while, his burdens being lightened some- 
what by the fact that Mr. Bedford, engineer of Division II, 
is being accorded the privilege by the Highway Commission 
of doing some work in Butte, Yuba, Sierra, and Nevada 
counties, which involves highway construction in part 
through canyons where a Rocky Mountain goat would have 
to exercise due diligence and caution if it desired to live to a 
ripe old age. 

In the main, however, Mr. Caruthers' troubles are prac- 
tically over, and it may be said that in 1919? save for the 
high cost of labor and materials, the difficulties incident to 
doing work by convict labor, and the troubles his prehistoric 
oil macadam boulevards are giving him, he is enjoying life to 
its full extent. 

[75] 



CHAPTER XII 

DIVISION IV THE BOULEVARD AROUND SAN FRANCISCO 

AND SAN PABLO BAYS 

When this division of the California State Highway was 
established, Mr. A. E. Loder was placed in charge as 
division engineer, his jurisdiction extending over the counties 
of San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Cruz, Santa Clara, 
Alameda, Contra Costa, Napa, Sonoma, and Marin. 

In other words, the area around San Francisco Bay for 
about 75 miles to north and east and south, was given to him, 
with all of the responsibilities thereunto appertaining or 
belonging; the fact that his district comprised the most 
populous section of the state making the situation unenviable 
for him as he, like every other one of the division engineers, 
was expected to build roads when funds therefor were 
utterly inadequate; the need for roads in his district being 
emphasized by the volume of traffic centered therein. How- 
ever, the fact that practically all of the counties immediately 
adjacent to San Francisco had built roads served to lighten 
the gloom somewhat and Mr. Loder, exercising good business 
judgment and under the sanction of his commission, appro- 
priated what roads he needed as a nucleus, thereafter, on 
August 7, 1 91 2, with pomp and ceremony starting actual 
construction work on the California State Highway system 
in San Mateo County. 

In facing the work involved in developing the system 
provided for by law in Division IV, it may be said in all 
fairness to Mr. Loder that no startling or spectacular pieces 
of engineering work fell to his lot, the Santa Cruz lateral 
from the main line at San Jose being merely a climb over a 
not particularly difficult mountain, the connection between 

[76] 




■5 

c3 



c3 



■S 




& 



5 R 

■^ <^, 

a ^ 

^ . 

S ^ 

'-> <^ 

a ^ 



Division IV 

Oakland and Martinez being only a side hill job dealing with 
a troublesome, slidy hillside and no other pieces of work 
being worthy of comparison with, for instance, the Bell 
Springs grade in Division I. 

So it might be assumed that Mr. Loder was destined for a 
peaceful tenure of a desirable office, with a fairly well de- 
veloped road system already put in by the various counties 
serving as a basis for further work, the main difficulty 
apparent at first glance being to extend this system along 
State Highway lines with as little traffic trouble as possible 
on finances that might truly be said to be inadequate even 
for the necessary work. 

However, before Mr. Loder had long been permitted to 
conduct the affairs of his office in peace and quiet an entirely 
unexpected development arose, involving the building of 
what will some day be one of the most popular drives around 
any city in the United States. This drive, starting at San 
Francisco and, at San Jose, swinging around the lower end of 
San Francisco Bay, passes through the peaceful orchards of 
the Santa Clara Valley, turns to the north past Mission San 
Jose, through Oakland and Berkeley and thence trends along 
the bay shore heights of Contra Costa; crossing the Straits 
of Carquinez at Martinez to Benicia. From this latter 
place by way of Cordelia and through Jameson Canyon into 
the beauties of the Napa Valley and on through the lower 
reaches of Sonoma, Jack London's Valley of the Moon, the 
proposed road leads, past pleasant places in Marin County, 
under the shadows of Mount Tamalpais to where, at Sausa- 
lito, a ferry trip across the Golden Gate completes the way. 

In sight of mountains and bay for almost its entire length 
it was so simple in its engineering problems as to be almost 
child's play. There were, however, difficulties to be over- 
come, financial ones involving the raising of $175,000 of 
additional funds to supplement the existing allotment of 
State Highway money; and to this task, under the active 
backing of Mr. Charles D. Blaney, chairman of the commis- 
sion, Mr. Loder addressed himself. 

The sum required could only be derived from pure dona- 

[77] 



California Highways 

tions contributed by Napa, Sonoma, and Marin Counties. 
The stretch of highway to the west of Napa not being a part 
of the State Highway system, no funds were provided for its 
construction, the entire plan being to fill in a gap in what 
was purely a scenic route. In the plan was involved the 
building of a huge bascule bridge across Petaluma Creek, a 
navigable stream which bore much tonnage under the fos- 
tering care of the Government. 

This route between Napa and Ignacio came in time to be 
known as the BJack Point Cut-off — it crosses the lower 
Sonoma Marsh in sight of the point of that name — and, 
promised for completion by the summer of 191 5 when the 
Panama- Pacific Exposition was to bring all the world to 
California, may possibly be completely paved with concrete 
before the end of 1920. 

So Mr. Loder started out to raise a mere bagatelle of 
$175,000, the man responsible for his endeavors being Mr. 
Charles D. Blaney, chairman, at the time, of the California 
Highway Commission, an intense individual who plunged 
with Rooseveltian enthusiasm into any favored project and 
hung onto it with the tenacity of Fate. 

At any rate Mr. Loder started out, equipped, it may be 
said, with fully as much enthusiasm as Mr. Blaney, and 
was ably assisted by his principal assistant engineer, Mr. 
R. K. West. And for ways that were dark and tricks that 
were vain Bret Harte's heathen Chinee was a mere tyro 
compared to these two. They were, it may be said, captained 
by an individual destined to lead in desperate undertakings, 
one who had sold State Highway bonds at par when State 
Highway bonds were not selling for par upon the stock 
exchange and who needed only the spur of difficulty to 
develop amazing powers. 

In the apportionment of this $175,000 Napa County was 
accorded the inestimable privilege of putting up $65,000, 
Sonoma County $75,000, while Marin County, being small 
and weak, was allowed to escape with $35,000. In addition 
to these sums, all rights of way and bridges over 20 feet in 
length were to be taken care of by the interested county, so 

[78] 



Division IV 

it may be seen that the money needed was a goodly sum. 
In so far as Napa County was concerned, Napa, St. Helena, 
and Calistoga got back of the project through their respec- 
tive Chambers of Commerce, attending to those difficult 
negotiations which finally resulted in the Board of Super- 
visors, at that time made up of Bismarck Bruck, chairman ; 
Frank Alexander, S. J. Webber, Jasper Partrick, and Charles 
Wassum, providing for the needed sum by a tax increase. 

In Sonoma County, one valiant spirit, Dr. E. L. Paramore 
of Boyes Springs, led all the way; while in Marin County a 
generally concerted movement of all the different promotion 
bodies was started by M. F. Cochrane, whose vocabulary 
knew no such word as "fail." And so it was that the move- 
ment was attended with success and the great bascule bridge 
across Petaluma Creek made possible, an undertaking which, 
upon its inception, seemed as impossible of accomplishment 
as the materialization of the genie from the bottle. 

With the main difficulty disposed of, a start was made at 
once toward securing the necessary rights of way and just 
at this time Mr. Loder was called back to Washington, where 
he was appointed ■ one of the principal assistants in the 
United States Bureau of Public Roads under Logan Waller 
Page, and Mr. W. Lewis Clark, the engineer of Division 
VII, whose previous undertakings will be found dwelt upon 
in Chapter 15, was transferred to the vacancy thus created. 

Whereupon evil days befell, arising from all Europe going 
to war and finally embroiling the United States. Labor was 
hard to get and high-priced. Cars for the movement of 
material were interdicted by this commission or that. Yet 
work proceeded and, Mr. Loder having finished the financial 
major part and brought to practical completion the minor 
construction details of the Black Point Cut-off, Mr. Clark 
undertook and graded and paved that part of the Round-the- 
Bay Boulevard which lies in Contra Costa County, on the 
hills above Carquinez Straits and Suisun Bay, and con- 
stitutes what is probably the crookedest stretch of road in 
all California, a road that will rank well up with the scenic 
roads of the world in time to come. 

[79] 



California Highways 

In addition to this stretch of road completed by Mr. 
Clark, another worth-while endeavor awaits him in the 
construction of what is known as the San Francisco "Skyline 
Boulevard," a road-building undertaking that supplies an 
additional outlet to the south from San Francisco ; this road 
being much needed to relieve a traffic congestion on the 
already established road to San Mateo and San Jose, where 
20,000 machines passing over the road, by actual count, on a 
fair Sunday make up a volume of traffic that renders touring 
unpleasant if not unsafe. This particular "Skyline Boule- 
vard" — there are a baker's dozen in the state — follows the 
crest of the Coast Range mountains, bay on one side and 
ocean on the other, to a junction with the already constructed 
San Jose lateral to Santa Cruz, affording with the established 
roads of San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz and San Fran- 
cisco counties an extension of the purely touring road 
system of central California which matches well the notable 
achievements of the south and will, in time, form a link in a 
. road reaching along the ocean shore from San Francisco to 
the Mexican line. 

One feature embodied in the proposed plan pleases — the 
fact that money enough is at hand to do the job — for under 
the $40,000,000 bond issue voted in 191 9 sufficient funds 
have been provided to push to completion, with all speed, 
those things which should have been but have not been done, 
as well as those things which, under California's latest road 
bond issue, have been deemed worth while; the fact that the 
counties interested have formed a highway district to push 
the Skyline Boulevard along making assurance doubly sure. 



[80] 




On the Santa Cruz lateral of the State Highway, showing 
concrete curbing. 




Guard rails in Division IV, and Division Engineer 
W. Lewis Clark. 



CHAPTER XIII 

DIVISION V. — THE SAN JUAN MOUNTAIN AND ZACA CANYON 
CONTROVERSIES. 

This division of the California State Highway takes in the 
coast counties of Monterey, San Luis Obispo, and Santa 
Barbara and the inland county of San Benito is generally 
rugged in character, lying as it does wholly within the Coast 
Range mountains, and comprehends some of the most attrac- 
tive scenery in the state. 

The man placed in charge of this division when it was 
created was Mr. Walter W. Howe, and the principal job 
allotted to him was the building of a link in the main coast 
line highway between San Francisco and Los Angeles from 
the Santa Clara County line on the north to the Ventura 
County line on the south, an engineering job that required 
entirely new surveys in many instances where existing roads 
had been built without much attention to the percentage of 
grades. 

Shortly after Mr. Howe took charge of this division and 
almost immediately when he had filed with the California 
Highway Commission his recommendation as to route, two 
sizable fusses in widely separated districts arose at one and 
the same time, one involving his recommendation for the 
establishment of a line over San Juan Mountain in San 
Benito and Monterey counties; the other over the routing 
between Santa Maria and Gaviota in Santa Barbara County, 
where he had recommended a line down through Zaca 
Canyon, contrary to the peace of mind of several Santa Bar- 
bara County towns, each of which aspired to be on the main 
line but, under Mr. Howe's routing, was left off. 

In relation to the controversy which arose over the San 

[81] 



California Highways 

Juan Mountain routing it may be said that it was largely 
started by the people of Watsonville, in Santa Cruz County, 
who felt that their thriving city should be considered; and 
while the arguments presented by them were given courteous 
attention by the California Highway Commission, that body 
formally decided against them and recommended in favor of 
the San Juan route, for the following dignified and categorical 
reasons: 

"First. Because the San Juan route is the most direct and 
practicable route between the lower end of the Santa Clara 
Valley and Salinas, the county seat of Monterey County, it 
being at least fifteen miles shorter than the opponent's line 
via Watsonville. Salinas is on the natural line for travel. 

Second. The town of Hollister, county seat of San Benito 
County, must be connected with the trunk line. This lateral, 
seven miles in length, can be constructed at least cost by 
tying it to the commission's line at San Juan and at the 
greatest advantage to Hollister and San Benito County. If 
the State Highway passed through Watsonville the con- 
necting lateral would be eleven miles long. Hollister is a 
county seat and Watsonville is not. 

'Third. Notwithstanding the miserable road now existing 
over San Juan Mountain most of the travel follows that route 
because of its directness. The road planned by the commis- 
sion will have only one mile of six per cent grade, the balance 
varying from two to four per cent. The road proposed via 
Watsonville passes along the bank of the Pajaro River for 
some distance. The road there is menaced constantly by a 
bad "slide" resulting from a "fault" in the strata of the hill 
on one side and by the river on the other, which erodes the 
bank to such an extent that piles and bulkheads have been 
placed to prevent it. The road here has been destroyed more 
than once from these cause." 

Saying which, the commission started Mr. Howe out to 
build over the San Juan grade, which he did, supplying a 
comfortable and scenic way, whereupon the people of Wat- 
sonville decided that if the mountain wouldn't come to Mdses, 
Moses would go to the mountain and immediately resolved 

[8a] 




Solid line shows completed highway over San Juan grade in Division V. 
Note direct route, solid line, as opposed to dotted line, wanted by Santa Cruz and 
Monterey counties. 




Solid line shows present State Highway route which continues along the 
Coast through Gaviota and Orella. The dotted lines show various routes which 
formed the basis for a sizable dispute. 



Division V 

that sooner or later they would have a paved highway in the 
exact location decried by the State authorities; and this 
highway will be completed some time in 1920 under the bond 
issue passed by Santa Cruz County in June, 1919, the tie-up 
from the Santa Cruz County line to the State Highway in 
San Benito, a distance of about three miles, being paid for by 
the California Highway Commission, which tends to show 
that, in spite of the dignified denial they accorded the Wat- 
sonville folk, their respective hearts are in the right place. 

With regard to the Zaca Canyon controversy half a dozen 
Santa Barbara County towns figured as protestants while, to 
the contrary notwithstanding, the California Highway Com- 
mission adopted the Zaca Canyon line, giving the following 
reasons: 

"First. It is the most direct and practicable route between 
Harris and the Gaviota Pass. It is not the shortest, being 
about four miles longer than the shortest route through the 
mountain passes, but the adopted line will have but two and 
one-half miles of grade in excess of five per cent while the 
shortest line (Line D on the accompanying map) would have 
seven and one-half miles in excess of five per cent. Line B 
was the second choice of the commission and only after much 
debate was it discarded. 

Second. This location enables the town of Lompoc to make 
a connection with the State Highway more easily than it 
could with the Los Olivos-Alisal line (Line B) and reasonably 
well satisfies the- desires of that town. The lateral will follow 
the Santa Ynez River by easy grades. 

Third. The presence of good local material for road con- 
struction and the delivery of materials from the railroads to 
Zaca Station, the downhill haul and easy grades, will greatly 
lessen the cost of the work as compared with any other route. 

Fourth. A dangerous grade crossing about one mile west of 
Los Olivos will be obviated, as will also a twelve per cent 
grade in the same locality. The adoption of the commission's 
route entails the construction of a bridge about one thousand 
feet in length over the Santa Ynez River. On the Los Olivos- 
Alisal line over the same river there is now a bridge of about 

[83] 



California Highways 

the same span and of the type known as "combination wood 
and steel." This bridge will last but a few years and the new 
bridge on the Zaca route will take its place. The bridge 
question should not control when better alignment, better 
grades, and four and one-half miles saving in distance may be 
secured by the route proposed by the commission." 

The cases cited are intended to illustrate the difficulties 
faced by the California Highway Commission and its en- 
gineer in developing a State Highway plan; and in making 
these decisions, as well as a thousand and one others of similar 
character throughout the state, it is worth while to quote the 
questions they asked themselves and answered, which are as 
follows : 

"First. Are directness and practicability the main factors ? 

Second. Or, on the contrary, is the placing of a county seat 
or county seats on a trunk line, even at the expense of a 
number of additional miles, the primary consideration ? 

Third. Shall the route of a trunk line be deflected, even 
though considerable distance is added, in order to connect the 
present center or centers of population numbering from a few 
hundred to a few thousand people ? 

Fourth. Shall the plan of routing the entire system be 
based upon the needs of the state as a whole and its relation 
to neighboring states, or shall the emphasis be placed upon 
the local needs of the counties traversed?" 

These questions are of interest to those men throughout 
the United States now engaged in the building of State High- 
way systems, and the manner in which the California 
Highway Commission answered them establishes a dignified 
and worthy precedent. Be that as it may, Mr. Howe pro- 
ceeded to build over San Juan Mountain and down through 
Zaca Canyon, doing an entirely creditable job, just for good 
measure abandoning the established road over Cuesta Pass 
in San Luis Obispo County, between San Luis Obispo and 
Santa Margarita, and substituting therefor that stretch of 
highway now popularly known as the Cuesta Grade to be 
seen in splendid panorama from the coast line trains of the 
Southern Pacific Railway just after they have essayed the 

[8 4 ] 




State Highway bridge near San Luis Obispo, showing 
flood during construction. 




Same bridge as above completed. 










S R 

IS 

R -^ 

S5 



Division V 

famous horseshoe curve north of San Luis Obispo and have 
burrowed through something like half a dozen tunnels in the 
climb to the top of the pass. 

That there were other troubles existent in Division V may 
be made plain by stating that numberless arroyos or deep 
gulches drop down from the Coast Range mountains to the 
sea; and in bridging these arroyos Mr. Howe found pleasant 
and engaging work, finding also that Santa Barbara County 
was ready and willing to lighten his labor by raising some 
hundreds of thousands of dollars and donating it, in bridge 
construction, to the State Highway. 

With his job well along in progress Mr. Howe yielded to the 
call of his country in the summer of 191 8 and entered the 
army, formally resigning from the service of the state, his 
place as engineer in charge of Division V being filled by L. H. 
Gibson, one of the assistant highway engineers, since which 
time Mr*. Gibson has been pleasantly occupied, suffering 
slightly from a dearth of finances, it is true, until the 191 9 
bond issue but otherwise doing the best he could to fill up 
unconstructed gaps, which he has now succeeded in doing in 
practical entirety. 

That he has a lot of work on hand goes without saying, for 
the Coalinga lateral from Fresno County to the coast line in 
Monterey County near San Lucas must be built, as well as 
the Cholame lateral, which connects the valley line from a 
point in Kern County north of Bakersfield with the Coast 
line at Paso Robles in San Luis Obispo County, both of these 
laterals being comprehended in the 191 6 State Highway bon4 
issue. 

In addition to these jobs, which are far from being in- 
considerable in size, under the 191 9 bond issue Mr. Gibson 
had two other roads given to him, the construction of which is 
going to be a sizable job. The first of these roads is the 
Carmel-San Simeon stretch from Carmel, in Monterey 
County, to San Simeon, in San Luis Obispo County, largely 
through the Monterey National Forest, and intended to 
supply a link in that coast highway which will some time 
undoubtedly stretch from the Oregon line to Mexico. 

[85] 



California Highways 

The country through which this proposed road will run is 
so rugged in character as to try out the climbing qualities of a 
Rocky Mountain goat, but of glorious scenic attraction, and 
in major part the proposed route leads through the Monterey 
National Forest, Government funds being supplied to help 
in construction work. It is to be a shore line road hung high 
above the breakers and is intended purely for a touring road, 
not to be paved with concrete under present plans, merely to 
be graded with permanent bridges and culverts and easy 
grades to be supplied which sounds simple enough in the 
telling but in reality is a whale of a job. 

The other new road given this division is the Cuyama 
lateral and it, also, supplies Mr. Gibson with food for 
thought, connecting Santa Maria, in Santa Barbara County 
with Bakersfield, in Kern County, and opening a new route 
from the interior to the coast. 

That the work in this division was well advanced by Mr. 
Howe and is being well carried on by Mr. Gibson is proven 
by the fact that it is practically all paved and complete in the 
fall of 1 91 9 and traveled by thousands of automobile tourists, 
who know that the grades are easy, the curves wide, and the 
scenery inspiring, without even realizing that it did not 
merely grow, like Topsy, but had to be planned for and 
fought for and labored over, as all other worth-while things 
are. 



[86] 




Engineer J. B. Woodson of Division VI inspecting 
bridge work. 




Railroad vs. Highway. Picture made in Merced County. 



CHAPTER XIV 

DIVISION VI — THE NORTHERN PART OF THE TEJON-CASTAIC 

RIDGE ROUTE 

The big job of this division, which has been in charge of 
J. B. Woodson, division engineer, since its organization, 
involved the building of a road over the Tehachapi Moun- 
tains, which form the south wall of the San Joaquin Valley, 
to connect with a road to be put in under the direction of the 
engineer of Division VII; who at that time was W. Lewis 
Clark, now in charge of Division IV; and those who have 
driven over the famous Tejon-Castaic Ridge route in touring 
California will have not the slightest difficulty in concluding 
that Messrs. Clark and Woodson had many extended 
confabs on their joint troubles. 

In Mr. Woodson's division the State Highway route of 
unquestionably the greatest importance was that supplying 
a link in the valley highway from the Stanislaus County 
line on the north to the Los Angeles County line on the 
south, about one and one-half miles south of Lebec in Kern 
County, and for the most part this link was just plain every- 
day road building through a country that with the applica- 
tion of water has bloomed forth into tremendous agricultural 
production, which without water would support only jack 
rabbits and scraggly cactus. So, for the main part of the 
way, all Mr. Woodson had to do was to build a hard road 
through a sandy country, now and then essaying a stretch of 
adobe soil just for a bit of variety, and his problems, until he 
started building south of Bakersfield, did not supply any 
unusual amount of grief. From Bakersfield to the south, 
however, was a different story, for, while there was a road 
between Bakersfield and the foot of Tejon Pass, this road 

[8 7 ] 



California Highways 

passed through about five miles of the worst adobe soil that 
can be imagined. It was so bad that a strong horse could 
not drag a light buggy through it after a rain, and it was no 
uncommon thing in winter to see here and there a cow mired 
down waiting for a team of horses to come and drag her out. 

This old road ran south from Bakersfield by way of 
Adobe Station and Rose Station, being to the eastward of 
the present line, and passed through a great adobe flat, 
virtually a swamp, which extended to the east and west for 
so many miles that a detour around it would involve a 
prohibitive expense. So there was nothing for Mr. Woodson 
to do but to make a road across the adobe, and over this 
adobe flat the State Highway leads today. In tackling the 
job before them the highway engineers picked out a place 
where the swamp narrowed in with a sort of hour-glass effect 
and started in to build a grade above the overflow level, the 
section passed through now and then filling up with back 
waters from Buena Vista reservoir and making an embank- 
ment necessary to keep the road above occasional floods- 

The construction of an embankment is not necessarily a 
grave task under ordinary conditions, but Mr. Woodson did 
not find ordinary conditions. In fact, he found conditions 
that were distinctly not ordinary. The local material, 
consisting of adobe and alkali in strong mixture, was not 
fit, so far as human intelligence has yet discovered, for 
building an embankment that would last, or for any other 
purpose, it might be said. So the material for building the 
bank had to be brought in, and it was brought in, not, owing 
to certain aquatic conditions which obtain in swamps, by 
teams of horses and wagons or even motor trucks, but by a 
specially constructed railroad which occasionally got into 
trouble and lost a length or two of track as the result of 
unstable soil and seepage water, otherwise mud. 

The line determined upon, over which for several years 
travel has been flowing in comfort and safety, cut off three 
and three-fourths miles of distance between Bakersfield and 
the foot of Tejon Pass in comparison with the Adobe 
Station road, departed from all existing lines of travel, and 

[88] 



Division VI 

required the securing of an entirely new right of way, which, 
it may be said, the Kern County Board of Supervisors 
provided joyously, having had, perhaps, more or less gluey 
experiences with the old road. For seventeen miles the 
highway in the stretch under consideration forms an abso- 
lutely straight line, the longest stretch of similar character 
in the state system of roads, to which is added another 
straightaway of twelve and one-half miles south from 
Bakersfield, the two combining to make a twenty-nine and 
one-half mile stretch of road reaching from Bakersfield to 
the foot of the Tejon Pass with only one slight curve. * 

While this job of road building was in progress the location 
of a road over the mountains served to engage the attention 
of Division Engineer Woodson pleasantly, and when he 
started seriously to investigate he found that an old-time 
stage road from Bakersfield to the south had essayed Tejon 
Pass by way of Grapevine Canyon and reached the town of 
Lang in Los Angeles County, passing through San Fran- 
cisquita Canyon en route. 

This old road meandered idly to and fro with fourteen 
per cent grades and crossings over Grapevine Creek every 
few minutes, this creek being noted for the rapidity with 
which it could move its bed under the influence of cloud- 
bursts common to the locality, incidentally taking along 
boulders as big as a switchman's shanty, uprooting aged and 
respectable oak trees, and generally supplying a state of 
affairs which made the State Highway engineers sit up and 
take notice. 

So the surveying parties started out and selected a route 
that lay well up on the hillside, holding in view as paramount 
to every other consideration that economy which was born 
from the knowledge that they had a big job to do and 
mighty little money to do it with. 

In selecting this line they kept as closely as possible to the 
old road, utilizing it where it was upon apparently solid 
hillside benches, providing for concrete culverts over creek 
crossings, and finally developing a routing that seemed to be 
sane and safe according to the best information obtainable. 

[8 9 ] 



California Highways 

Then in March, 19 14, Grapevine Creek behaved in a 
manner that cast into the shade all previous misbehavior, 
and not only wiped out the old road in practical entirety but 
also encroached upon the new line in such a manner as to 
prevent its use in the present and to render unadvisable any 
highway construction upon the lines which, before the 
cloudburst, had seemed practically safe. 

Another and further survey of the section was had and 
the determination arrived at that not only must the new 
line be farther up the hillsides, or what was left of them, but 
also that Grapevine Creek must be controlled, this latter 
task being taken care of by building solid rock retaining 
walls alongside the highway wherever it was close to the 
creek. 

These walls were put in, huge boulders being set far down 
below the stream bed and built up six to eight feet along the 
slope, which method of control has served to the present 
time to curb the creek in its uprisings, although now and 
then it acts in its accustomed manner and turns, almost in 
the twinkling of an eye, from a trickling rivulet to a roaring 
mountain torrent which carries all before it and subsides as 
quickly as it rose. 

Where the old road had many steep grades and sharp 
pitches of twelve and fourteen per cent the new road has a 
maximum grade of six per cent, easily climbed "in high" by 
any automobile and safe and comfortable to travel even 
when the snow, upon rare occasion, blankets the higher 
reaches toward Lebec. 

From one and one-half .miles beyond Lebec to Los Angeles, 
the route lay in Division VII of the State Highway, and in 
Chapter XV a glimpse may be had of the joys that fell to the 
share of Division Engineer Clark, whose job it was to begin 
where Mr. Woodson left off and build a mile-saving road that 
would connect the vast reaches of the San Joaquin and 
Sacramento valleys with the wonderland of paved highways 
lying south of the Tehachapi. 

That the engineers of the two divisions succeeded goes 
without saying, and the Tejon-Castaic Ridge route today, to 

[90] 




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^ 
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£> 



5: 

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R-S 
8.3 

5. a 



Division VI 

be completely concreted by the fall of 1919, cuts off sixty 
miles of the distance by the old route between Bakersfield 
and Los Angeles and enables automobile stages to make 
better time between the points named than the train. 

In the course of the work of laying out the State Highway 
line south from Bakersfield the intense heat of the treeless 
desert region was impressed upon the engineers, which 
resulted in a determination to secure an extra* width of right 
of way for the purpose of planting shade trees, and these 
trees now have been planted and about fifteen miles of pipe 
line put in through the cooperation of Kern County for 
irrigating purposes. 

While the growing of trees in a desert country is a fair- 
sized job all by itself, the plans of the California Highway 
Commission in relation to this stretch of road look forward 
to that time when, from Bakersfield south into the cool 
depths of Tejon Canyon, a double row of shade trees will 
flank the highway and make a leafy shelter for the traveler, 
relieving also the vast monotony of driving over a thirty- 
mile stretch of road that is straight as the flight of a crow 
save for one little kink, a monotony made doubly oppressive 
by the blaze of the summer desert sun. 

Other undertakings from time to time, of course, have 
engaged and are engaging the attention of the road-building 
engineers detailed to Division VI, the building of a road 
passable all the year round into Yosemite, an extension of 
the Mariposa lateral, being one of these which has provided 
no inconsiderable job. 

This road into Yosemite leaves the main trunk line of the 
highway at Merced, and is already graded up to Mormon 
Bar, from which place short pitches and excessive grades 
obtain by existing routes which lead over summits where 
snow piles up in winter and blocks all travel. 

The new route selected turns abruptly to the north at 
Mormon Bar, passes through the long-slumbering mining 
town of Mariposa, which has sat a bit aside from the beaten 
path for years, and where, even now, the winter rains 
occasionally wash gold nuggets out from the dirt of the 

[91] 



California Highways 

unpaved streets. Passing through Mariposa the route 
selected trends to the north, climbs over a summit of only- 
two thousand nine hundred sixty-seven feet and drops down 
into Bear Creek canyon to where it merges into the canyon 
of the Merced. 

Looking down into the depths of Bear Creek canyon from 
a point near King Solomon's Mine, two blazed trails show 
the adopted line of the State Highway with, just above it, 
the trail laid out by the Automobile Club of Southern 
California some years ago. 

On all sides are to be seen evidences of mining activities of 
former years, for hereabouts was gold-mining country in the 
days of '49. Trails and abandoned roads over which, in the 
old days, supplies were hauled to prospectors' camps or 
the mills of the mines testify to past accomplishment, while 
rock dumps tell of long-ago burrowings after that elusive 
metal which beckoned to so many and rewarded so pitifully 
few. 

From the juncture of Bear Creek to El Portal the proposed 
line leads up the south wall of the canyon of the Merced 
about fifty feet above the brawling waters of the river to El 
Portal, where Yosemite begins. 

Aside from the county seat laterals required by law to be 
built four other cross-state roads connecting the valley with 
the coast exist in Division VI, these being the Pacheco Pass 
Road, the Coalinga lateral, the road over Cholame Pass and 
that known as the Cuyama lateral which reaches from 
Bakersfield by way of Maricopa into Santa Barbara County. 
The construction of these roads forms perhaps the biggest 
problem facing Mr. Woodson at the present time for they 
will bear a commercial as well as touring traffic and with the 
exception of the Cuyama lateral are to be paved with 
concrete. 

To the eastward of the main trunk line in Division VI, a 
tremendous stretch of road exists originating at the south 
boundary of Kern County and skirting the eastern slope of 
the Sierras toward the north. Part of this road is built, little 
stretches of concrete pavement here and there having been 



Division VI 

laid down in sandy stretches. This pavement, eight feet 
wide with seven-foot two-car turnouts every quarter of a 
mile, helps make travel a possibility, and its completion, 
with additional funds supplied, is only a matter of time. 
Opening up a comparatively unknown country, this road 
leads to some of the most imposing mountain scenery in 
America and will supply a popular touring trip when done, 
forming as it does a link in that long-dreamed-of east-of-the- 
Sierras highway. 

Other roads there are in this division, other engineering 
accomplishments completed and waiting to be done, but the 
biggest problem, the one big job of this division, the road up 
Grapevine Canyon into Tejon Pass and on to Lebec, has \/ 
been finished and the troubles incident thereto forgotten, 
leaving Mr. Woodson free to engage in more prosaic en- 
gineering affairs. Perhaps he may have a bit of time to 
wonder what he will do with the Kern- Ventura State High- 
way mentioned on page .25 herein which has been formally 
designated as a State project by a Legislature which forgot, 
apparently, that money is required in building roads. 



[93] 



CHAPTER XV 

DIVISION VII THE TEJON-CASTAIC RIDGE ROUTE AND THE 

COLORADO DESERT 

When organization of the California Highway Commis- 
sion was effected, the man placed in charge of this 
division was W. Lewis Clark, now division engineer of 
Division IV. When Mr. Clark took a comprehensive view 
of the territory allotted him he found that, if such a phrase 
is permissible, his job comprehended the sublime and the 
ridiculous, in so far as the development of his road system 
was concerned. In part the roads tentatively decided upon 
skirted the ocean shore, climbed over vast mountain ridges, 
or traced through valleys dotted with green- foli aged orchards 
of various kinds, where road systems were already fairly 
well developed; in part essayed the most grotesque and 
dismal desert places, where drifting sands piled up in dunes 
that reached 400 feet in height and wandered crazily about; 
in part involved the building of a road along a dead sea 
shore that lay far down below the level of the ocean and 
generally, for all around variety, was amply satisfying even 
to the most aspiring of engineers. 

With such a choice array of road-building problems to 
select from, some excuse for meditation as to where to start in 
might perhaps apply, save for the fact that the importance 
of the coast and valley routes, connecting the populous 
sections of the state, was far and away beyond that in any 
other section. Of these, the matter of building the coast 
road between San Francisco and Los Angeles was com- 
paratively simple, this not being true, however, of the valley 
route connecting Los Angeles with the north; so the coast 
road may be eliminated and the climb over the Tehachapi 

[94] 




1? 



a 

a 

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<=> 
£> 



8 

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R 
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Division VII 

Mountains on the valley route be regarded as the big en- 
gineering accomplishment of Division VII. The particular 
section of this work falling upon Mr. Clark reached up 
to the Kern County line, where, as outlined in Chapter 14, 
Division Engineer Woodson was raptly contemplating 
the vagaries of Grapevine Creek and the 'dobe overflow 
lands of the Seventeen-Mile Tangent. To effect a juncture 
with Mr. Woodson's district was Mr. Clark's job, Mr. 
Woodson's job being to meet Mr. Clark halfway, and 
inasmuch as we have disposed of Mr. Woodson's troubles, 
Mr. Clark may be given the center of the stage in his en- 
deavors to find a safe and sane route over the Tehachapi. 
Between Los Angeles and Bakersfield he found but fivt 
possible lines of routing, all following the same road to 
Newhall, where they diverged. The most westerly of these 
was a road through San Francisquita Canyon, a steep, 
narrow, dangerous way that crossed a creek too often 
and was plainly beyond the economic pale. (Elimination 
number one.) The most eastwardly road was through 
the Soledad Canyon where history recorded constant wash- 
outs. (Elimination number two.) Between these two were 
three other roads and of these three the Boquet or Dead- 
man's Canyon road, albeit picturesque, was not of engineer- 
ing desirability owing to sharp turns, steep pitches, and 
threatening drainage problems ; no way of joy. (Elimination 
number three.) 

Mint Canyon was elimination number four because of its 
excessive length and hence expense of construction, not to 
mention maintenance; so Mr. Clark girded his loins, cinched 
up some pack mules, and went over the top via what today is 
the Ridge Route, which then was as trailless as the snows 
that Peary saw about the Pole. 

The route chosen was practically a direct line between 
Newhall and Bakersfield, led up to the top of the mountains 
and there stayed for miles and miles on, to all appearance, 
the roof of the world with piled-up saddleback mountain 
ranges on every side but all below. 

Just how much mesquite and chaparral and greasewood 

[95] 



California Highways 

brush Mr. Clark and his pack mule convoy plowed through 
is not susceptible of intelligible narration, although, as the 
darky says, it was mighty much. And in essaying it the 
engineers packed fodder and water for their horses and food 
and more water for themselves, finally arriving at the point 
of meeting with the engineer of Division VI just above 
Lebec, after plowing through a country where there was not 
even a well-defined trail. That the scarcity of water was a 
problem to be considered in the construction of this road 
may be deduced from the troubles of Mr. W. W. Patch, who 
succeeded to the job when Mr. Clark was transferred to 
Division IV, as this wholly worthy road builder, in the 
summer of 191 9, while paving with concrete a 19-mile 
stretch of roadway on the very top of the mountains, found 
himself engaged in competition with a herd of cattle sum- 
mering in that high altitude; Mr. Patch needing the water 
for concrete construction, the cattle needing it for personal 
consumption, the visible supply being inadequate for both. 
At any rate the route over which Mr. Clark had made his 
pack mule reconnaissance was adopted and today the Tejon- 
Castaic Ridge Route stands out, to the layman at least, for 
engineers were never known to agree, as one of the out- 
standing road-building accomplishments in California, a 
way that suggests in the grotesque jumble of its underlying 
mountains some picture from the brush of Gustave Dore. 

And then Mr. Clark took charge of Division IV, which 
had been robbed of Mr. A. E. Loder by the United States 
Bureau of Public Roads, and promptly Pandora's box was 
opened and a left-over array of road-building troubles was 
dumped helter-skelter before Mr. Walter W. Patch, who was 
appointed division engineer. The chief of these difficulties, 
of course, was lack of money; for until the 1919 bond issue 
every division engineer was working on a shoestring and the 
commission generally sailing about between financial heavens 
and terrestrial criticism, this money trouble not being 
strictly engineering in dimension but applicable to mortals 
all — as well as engineers. So it may be eliminated and we 
will turn to consideration of a job that today is the out- 

[96] 




8* 



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Before construction — <2 sandy, unkempt stretch of road. 





After construction — concrete. 



Division VII 

standing puzzle of the commission, a job that was in the 
offing when Mr. Clark was climbing about on top of the 
Tehachapi Mountains and that is just about as near a solu- 
tion now as it was then. 

This job involves building a road over the Colorado Desert 
between El Centro and Yuma, Arizona, at the California line, 
the stretch of road involved connecting with the San Diego 
to El Centro branch of the State Highway and the branch 
reaching in from San Bernardino, passing through Riverside 
County and to the west of Salton Sea. Definitely adopted 
as a route of the State Highway — in all probability as the 
result of pressure brought to bear upon the Highway Com- 
mission and its engineer — abandonment of the line from El 
Centro east, or a rerouting thereof, would raise such a howl 
of protest that the mere possibility of so doing is uttered with 
bated breath, none the less, if there be an engineer among 
this audience who knows what to do he is respectfully 
requested to speak now or forever hold his peace. From San 
Diego, where connection is had with the coast route to Los 
Angeles and San Francisco, to El Centro, no particular 
engineering difficulties prevailed, rerouting of existing roads 
to secure a minimum grade being necessary in some places 
but the work mainly being straight road-building with no 
particular frills such as were embodied in locating and 
building the Tejon-Castaic Ridge Route. Nor was anything 
out of the ordinary encountered in building the line down 
from San Bernardino through Riverside County to the west 
of Salton Sea, paved sections already put in by Riverside 
County supplying a basis for future work in the neighbor- 
hood of Thermal, Coachella, and Indio. To the east of El 
Centro, however, or more properly speaking, from Holtville, 
was a situation that the most stout-hearted engineer gazed 
at with something which approached affright. Huge dunes 
made up of what is expressively designated blow-sand piled 
up in ever-changing formation in the Colorado Desert, where a 
torrid sun, lack of water, and almost unconquerable sand 
made travel a thing to be approached almost with prayer. 
All existing roads, in the old days, were merely wagon or 

[97] 



California Highways 

automobile tracks in the sand, tracks that were filled up 
almost as soon as made. And in this region, from heat and 
thirst and desert craze, many a man has wandered to his 
death. 

In point of directness, this way across the blow-sands of 
the Colorado Desert is the most direct connection toward the 
east — taking San Diego as the starting point — and across this 
waste in the dune section where travel would otherwise be 
impossible a novel form of construction has been adopted — a 
plank road assembled in sections at a distant station and 
hauled to its location among the creeping dunes. This 
plank road supplants what also was known as a plank road 
in the days before the State Highway — two boards laid across 
girders like a primitive railroad track — and on these boards 
many an automobile made the trip, now and then falling upon 
evil times when a hind wheel jumped the track and settled 
down into the sand. A crazy road this was, humped up on 
one side and dropped down upon the other, writhing like a 
snake when the sand shifted to and fro and provided with 
turnouts of similar erratic construction. 

The new plank road, compared to the old one, seems like a 
boulevard, an eight-foot road of solid crossway planking with 
similarly constructed turnouts, eight feet wide, holding two 
cars every four-tenths of a mile. But this road serving now 
must be kept under constant supervision, for the sands blow 
upon it and cover it up and make it useless. It is open only 
as long as the road crew of the State Highway, which has a 
station at a well on the edge of the desert, keeps scraping it 
off. 

And, in addition, the sand dunes crawl — not very much it 
is true — but none the less they creep about the desert, shifting 
in form, encroaching upon the road here, covering it there, 
wandering this way when the wind blows from the north, 
another way when the wind blows from the south or east or 
west. Some of these dunes are four hundred feet high, fed 
by an inexhaustible supply of blow sand, defying sand fences 
and offering a problem that no engineer has yet had the 
temerity to say can be conquered for all time. 

[98] 




Plank road completed. 'Turn-out in left foreground 




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m 






Before the era of the State Highway parallel planks 
served for a road. 




m 



Hauling sections of plank road out into the desert on 
the El Centro-Yuma Highway. 




Unloading sections of plank road. Canopy protects 
workmen from sun. 



Division VII 

There is travel over this road, thanks to the men who 
camp at the edge of the desert and scrape the plank road as 
part of their daily job. With the brackish water of their well 
they have built a tiny oasis around their shack and their 
corral. Green sod is started, trees are sinking their roots into 
the sand, which needs only water to become as fecund as the 
Imperial Valley proper ; but like the road they tend they have 
no assurance that some day a dune will not creep upon and 
over the green spot they have grown to regard as home. 

Just what development the road across the sand hills is to 
secure under the ample finances at last supplied to the 
California Highway Commission no one in authority seems 
to care to state even if he knows, and so it would seem, as part 
of Mr. Patch's job is to build a road across this disheartening 
area, that the old copy book maxim — about youth's lexicon 
having no such word as fail — must really be true, for it is 
his job to build a road where no road ever has been built and 
where no one knows how to build one that will be a per- 
manent way. 

In addition to this road, the building of another thorough- 
fare of far different character faces the engineer of Division 
VII and is worth while mentioning. This r6ad runs along 
the coast from Oxnard, Ventura County, to San Juan Capis- 
trano Point in Orange County, and is to be paved with 
concrete six inches thick and twenty feet wide. It must, in 
places, be blasted from sheer cliffs of solid rock and, save a 
short inland detour, all its course is along the ocean where 
pleasant and cool breezes blow. So when Mr. Patch gets 
tired of the heat-burdened monotony of the desert and 
its crawling dunes he can engage himself with only ordin- 
arily difficult engineering problems to consider until he gains 
courage once again. 



[99] 



CHAPTER XVI 

state highway routes 
Route i — San Francisco via Crescent City to Oregon. 

Begins at the famous San Francisco Ferry Building and 
ends at the Oregon line. It is to be paved with concrete 
to a few miles to the north of Eureka, in Humboldt County, 
and is one of the most wonderful touring trips in the state, 
even in 191 9 when only partly paved, as the roadway is well 
graded and practically complete in that respect up to and 
beyond Eureka, work from that point being now under way. 
Under the 1919 State Highway bond issue an extension is 
provided for trending inland from Crescent City toward 
Grant's Pass in Oregon. 

Route 2 — San Francisco to San Diego. 

From San Francisco south to San Diego, mostly along the 
coast and eventually, under state and county road develop- 
ment plans decided upon in 191 9, to be in sight of the ocean 
all the way. Paved with concrete for practically its entire 
length, it follows the line of El Camino Rea/ y the King's 
Highway of the Spanish padres. 

Route 3 — Sacramento to the Oregon Line 
via Marysvtlle. 

Popularly known as the East Side Highway it traverses 
that section of the great Sacramento Valley lying east of the 
Sacramento River, passing through a wonderfully productive 
area where much rice is grown and where duck and goose 
shooting is to be had in season, vast flocks of those migrant 
fowls actually menacing the crops. To the west from the 

[100] 







<-5 

-5 




^ 



State Highway Routes 

highway may be seen the Sutter Buttes upthrust from 
the floor of the valley in eccentric array. In its upper stretch, 
where the valley narrows in, from this route Lassen Peak, the 
only live volcano in the United States, is visible, infrequently 
in eruption, while to the north Mount Shasta, always snow 
capped, lifts nearly 15,000 feet into the clouds. 

Route 4 — Sacramento to Los Angeles. 

From Sacramento south through Stockton, Modesto, 
Merced, the gateway to the Yosemite, Madera, Fresno, 
Visalia, and Bakersfield this route leads through the lower 
Sacramento Valley and the San Joaquin, traverses the 
Seventeen-Mile Tangent south of Bakersfield and twists up 
Grapevine Canyon to the top of the Castaic-Tejon Ridge 
where it rides along, to all intents and purposes on the roof 
of the world, with mountain peaks all around and all below. 
It traverses in the valley a region of marvelous agricultural 
development, trends through the Kern County oil fields and 
passes old Fort Tejon in the mountains and then drops into 
Los Angeles County, burrowing through the Newhall Tunnel 
to its destination. 

Route 5 — Stockton to Santa Cruz via Oakland. 

This route ties up the valley route with the coast, traverses 
Altamont Pass, goes through Dublin Canyon, touches Oak- 
land and trends south on the east side of San Francisco Bay 
past Mission San Jose, through San Jose, the modern city, 
and from Los Gatos climbs over the Coast Range mountains. 
It is mostly paved, is easily and safely traversed, and con- 
nects the warm interior valleys of California with the 
popular bathing beaches of Santa Cruz. It is a short route 
easily accessible from San Francisco and is, so far as the 
western end is concerned, one of central California's most 
popular tours. From Oakland east it forms the main com- 
mercially traveled line of the State Highway. 

Route 6 — Sacramento to Woodland Junction. 
Should be properly Sacramento to Davis and forms a con- 

[101] 



California Highways 

nection between Sacramento and the State Highway line 
which reaches from Benicia to Tehama junction, designated 
formally by the Highway Commission as Route Seven. 
This little stretch of highway is interesting in that it crosses 
the 16,538 foot Yolo-Sacramento Causeway described in 
Chapter XI. 

Route 7 — Tehama Junction to Benicia. 

Forms a connection between San Francisco and the Sacra- 
mento-Oregon line of the State Highway, crossing the ferry 
to Martinez from Benicia and at Martinez connecting with 
another link of the State Highway that leads to Oakland. 
Passes through Tehama, Glenn, Colusa, Yolo, and Solano 
Counties and is worth while in that it affords a view of the 
Sacramento Valley's agricultural development. At Benicia 
is the only United States arsenal on the Pacific Coast; at 
Vallejo, a few miles away, is the Mare Island Navy Yard; 
while at Davis the University Farm of the University of 
California is one of the interesting and highly developed 
schools of agriculture in the West. 

Route 8 — Ignacio to Cordelia via Napa. 

This route taps Route Seven at Cordelia, a few miles 
north of Benicia, traverses Jameson Canyon, passes through 
the lower part of the beautiful Napa Valley and on into 
Sonoma County near the little town of Sonoma, where the 
farthest north Mission is and where the Bear Flag of the 
California Republic was raised. Thence by the way of the 
Black Point Cut-off, a road across the lower Sonoma Valley 
marshes, it leads across Petaluma Creek by a big bascule 
drawbridge to the San Francisco-Oregon coast-line highway. 
It is part of the great boulevard which completely encircles 
San Francisco and San Pablo bays. 

Route 9 — San Fernando in Los Angeles County to 
San Bernardino. 

The "Foothill Boulevard," one of southern California's 
most attractive short tours at the foot of the mountains, 

[102] 



State Highway Routes 

passing through Pasadena and supplying a connection to at 
least two transcontinental roads. All paved in 1919. 

Route 10 — Vis alia to San Lucas. 

The Coalinga lateral of the State Highway, connects 
valley and coast routes. In 191 9 hardly more than a survey 
mainly over existing roads. Is to be paved with concrete. 
Affords a way to the coast from the interior and will carry 
much travel. It passes through the oil-producing section of 
Fresno County at Coalinga and will serve a heavy volume 
of traffic when done. 

Under the 1919 State Highway bond issue an eastward 
extension of this route is provided for to be paved from 
Visalia to the Sequoia Park line. See chapter on Tulare 
County. 

Route i i — Sacramento to Nevada Line via Placerville. 

Paved to Placerville in 1919. Passes through the California 
of the days of '49 when Placerville was Hangtown. A few 
miles from Placerville is where Marshall discovered gold 
in California; good road to this historic point put in by El 
Dorado County. It is the most popular route to Lake Tahoe. 
Was formerly the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road over which 
Hank Monk drove a stage and Horace Greeley traveled on 
his way to Virginia City and was the first road to be taken 
over by the state, long before the days of the State Highway. 
Part of this route, from Placerville to Sportsman's Hall, is 
to be paved with concrete with funds provided for in the 191 9 
bond issue. 

Route 12 — San Diego to El Centro. 

Is paved, in practical entirety, in 191 9 from San Diego to 
El Centro and carries a heavy volume of travel from the 
Imperial Valley to the coast. Is an attractive scenic road, 
affords a splendid view of San Diego and its environs, and 
looks off into Mexico. Toward the east, from the summit, a 
panoramic view of great scope may be had of the Imperial 
Valley and the mountains beyond. 

[ 103 ] 



California Highways 

Route 13 — Salida to Junction. 

This is the Sonora lateral from the San Joaquin Valley 
main highway. Leaves main line at Salida in Stanislaus 
County just above Modesto, paved practically to Stanislaus 
County line and will be paved completely to Sonora in 1920. 
Passes through middle fork of Stanislaus River and through 
Stanislaus National Forest, climbs Sonora Pass, 9624 feet in 
elevation. Grades in the mountains so steep as to make 
automobile travel precarious. Mostly used by sheepmen. 
In scenery is equal to the Alps almost but expense involved 
in making it an easily traveled highway will scarcely be 
justified for years. 

Route 14 — Albany to Martinez. 

Part of the Round-the-Bay Boulevard and is a short 
stretch between Oakland and Martinez. Is very scenic, 
high up on the hills above the Straits of Carquinez and gives 
a view of the delta regions at the mouth of the Sacramento 
and San Joaquin rivers. Forms a link in the highway from 
San Francisco and Oakland to the Sacramento Valley and 
Oregon by way of a ferry crossing from Martinez to Benicia. 
About the crookedest stretch of road in the whole State 
Highway but worth while traveling. All paved. 

Route 15 — Williams to Colusa. 

This is the lateral reaching Colusa, the county seat of 
Colusa County. All paved and passes through a grain and 
rice producing section. From it may be seen the Sutter 
Buttes to the east. Under the 19 19 state bond issue, which 
supplies connecting links between this route and Routes 37 
it forms part of what is popularly known as the Tahoe- 
to-Ukiah highway, a cross-state road forming a shortcut 
connection between Nevada points and the upper Cali- 
fornia coast which is two hundred twenty-two miles in 
length, passes through Marysville, Yuba County; Yuba City 
and Meridian, Sutter County; Colusa and Williams, in 
Colusa County, and thence across Lake County to a con- 

[ IQ 4] 




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5i 







Well No. I, east of El Centro. 



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** 



State Highway in Colorado Desert. 



State Highway Routes 

nection with the State Highway at Ukiah, Mendocino 
County. 

The Tahoe-to-Ukiah highway is a much-needed road, both 
scenic and commercial in aspect, and in part at least is to be 
paved with concrete. 

Route 16 — Hopland to Lakeport. 

This is the Lake County lateral from the Coast Highway 
running from San Francisco to Oregon. It leaves the main 
line at Hopland, Mendocino County, climbs over Free Road 
Grade from the summit of which a splendid panoramic view 
is to be had of the Ukiah and Sonoma valleys, Mount St. 
Helena, Mount Konocti, and Clear Lake. Is under con- 
struction in 1919. 

Route 17 — Roseville to Nevada City. 

This route leaves the highway which runs up the east side 
of the Sacramento Valley from Sacramento to Oregon at 
Roseville and follows the highway which leads over the 
Sierras to Donner Lake, Truckee, Lake Tahoe, and Nevada 
as far as Auburn. There it turns north and reaches 
Nevada City and Grass Valley, where gold mining is still the 
principal industry. Is paved in good part and will be entirely 
paved in 1920. 

Route 18 — Merced to Sequoia. 

This is the road into Yosemite and it is so well known 
as to need little description. It leaves the Sacramento- 
Los Angeles Highway at Merced, is practically paved to 
Mariposa and there turns north and winds down Bear 
Creek Canyon to the canyon of the Merced River. To El 
Portal, the entrance to Yosemite, it follows the Merced 
River, and is the road for the paving of which Rudolph 
Spreckels has raised nearly $ 1,000,000. The stretch down 
Bear Creek and up the Merced Canyon is entirely new, 
avoids the heavy grades and high altitudes of the old road 
and will, when completed, open the Yosemite to travel during 
the whole year. It is destined to be one of California's most 
popular motoring trips. 

[105] 



California Highways 

Route 19 — Riverside Lateral. 

This is a short stretch connecting the city of Riverside in 
Riverside County with the main line of the State Highway. 
It runs through a thickly settled country and is attractive, as 
all other highways in southern California are attractive, its 
only particularly novel feature being that it affords direct 
access to the road up Mount Roubidoux. 

Route 20 — Redding to Coast Highway via Weaverville 

This is a cross-country tie-up in the northern portion of 
the state between the Sacramento Valley and the coast 
highway. It starts at Redding, passes through the old and 
practically abandoned mining town of Shasta, reaches 
Weaverville, the county seat of Trinity County, and thence 
trends to the west, connecting with the coast highway north 
of Eureka. It is being built by the State Highway Commis- 
sion with funds in part supplied by the state, in part by the 
Government, and in part by Humboldt and Trinity Counties, 
and runs through an ideal hunting, fishing, and camping 
region practically unspoiled by man. 

Route 21 — Richvale to Oroville. 

This is the county seat lateral connecting Oroville, the 
county seat of Butte County, with the Sacramento Valley 
highway. It is paved with concrete in 19 19. An extension 
of this route is provided by the 19 19 State Highway bond 
issue reaching from Oroville to Quincy, Plumas County, 
through the canyon of the Feather River, presumably. This 
extension, ninety-two miles in length and of great scenic 
interest, involves extremely expensive construction work, and 
was accepted with groans by the California Highway Com- 
mission. It will be surfaced with local material. 

Route 22 — San Juan Bautista to Hollister. 

This is the San Benito county seat lateral connecting 
Hollister with the coast highway. It leaves the highway at 
the northern approach to the San Juan grade at the old 

[106] 




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State Highway Routes 

Spanish town of that name, where is an old Mission, and 
supplies access to the Pinnacles, a show place, little known, 
on the San Benito-Monterey county line. In 1919 this route 
was added to by an eight-mile extension connecting Hollis- 
ter with the Pacheco Pass road, Route 32. 

Route 23 — Saugus to Route i i at Alpine Junction. 

This route originates in Los Angeles County, is popularly 
called in the section which it traverses El Camino Sierra, and 
is due in large measure to the Inyo County Good Roads 
Club under the leadership of W. G. Scott, who for years has 
dreamed of a highway north and south to the east of the 
Sierras. It starts out through Mint Canyon in Los Angeles 
County, which is practically all paved, crosses a portion of 
the Mojave Desert and passes Owens Lake, the site of the 
Los Angeles water supply, and thence runs up the Owens 
River Valley to the east of Mount Whitney, the highest 
mountain peak in the United States proper. 

From the Owens River Valley to the west is one of the 
most marvelous skyline vistas in the United States, Mount 
Whitney dominating the entire landscape while the moun- 
tains drop sheer to the floor of the valley without intervening 
foothills. North of Mount Whitney it passes Mono Lake, 
m the high Sierras, where cattle grazing country exists upon 
the high plateaus around Bridgeport, Mono County, and 
thence to Alpine Junction near Lake Tahoe, where it con- 
nects with another route of the State Highway. It is prac- 
tically unpaved, has some stretches of eight-foot concrete 
road with turn-outs in the Owens River country above In- 
dependence, but to one who loves sublimity of scenery is 
amazingly worth while. 

Route 24 — Lodi to Silver Creek. 

This route leaves the valley highway near Lodi between 
Stockton and Sacramento, passes through San Andreas and 
on into the high Sierras, connecting with the El Camino 
Sierra Route 23. Is essentially a' mountain road, has scarcely 
been touched past San Andreas, to which point it has been 

[107] 



California Highways 

payed, but is interesting in that it leads close up to the 
Calaveras Big Trees. 

Route 25— Nevada City to Downieville. 
This route connects Nevada City, the county seat of 
Nevada County, with Downieville, the county seat of Sierra 
County and hence with the State Highway. It runs through 
a rugged and attractive country and will, when completed, 
be a popular trip among those who like to get out into remote 
places where trout fishing is mighty good. 

Route 26— San Bernardino to El Centro. 
This routing extends in a general southeastwardly direction 
from San Bernardino through Riverside County into the 
Imperial Valley at El Centro, where it connects with the 
highway which reaches San Diego. In the central part of 
Riverside County it passes the Whitewater River, runs 
through Indio and Coachella, passes near Thermal and 
Mecca and thence to the west of the valley wherein lies the 
Salton Sea. Near Indio and Thermal it passes date ranches 
now reaching a wonderful stage of development under the 
fostering care of the Government, which maintains experi- 
ment stations where one, after preliminary negotiations with 
the proprietors, may pick fresh dates from the palms and 
learn what dates really are. 

South from Thermal the way leads, as has been said, to the 
west of the Salton Sea. This amazing body of water is 
below sea level. All around is desert. On the hills high 
above where the road now is and encircling the whole valley 
a water-worn mark upon the rock-buttressed, desert hills 
tells of some distant time when a great inland sea was here 
and now and then a little patch of eight-foot concrete road 
with two-car, seven-foot turnouts is to be found where the 
vast expanse of hard-to-get-through sand is more than 
usually impassable. 

From Fig Tree John's at the north end of the Salton Sea, 
the way is through desert sand, in sight of desert mountains, 
in as bleak a country as the mind of man can conceive clear 

[108] 



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State Highway Routes 

down to the south of the vast body of water where the way- 
leads through Brawley to El Centro. This route only 
touched as yet is to be improved sometime, and when it is, 
it will carry a volume of sightseeing tourists for it will supply 
a loop tour from Los Angeles, through San Bernardino, 
Riverside, Brawley, El Centro and back by way of San 
Diego and the coast. An interesting way. 

Route 27 — El Centro via Holtville to Yuma, Arizona 

This route proves the existence of the impossible. It 
reaches across the Colorado Desert from El Centro to Yuma. 

An old plank road was formerly here with parallel planks 
off which automobiles occasionally slipped into exceeding 
bad luck. Now a new plank road, built in sections and hauled 
into the desert, has been laid down over the worst going. 
A bit of oiled road also has been put down. By dint of eternal 
vigilance the Highway Commission keeps this way open, 
having established a maintenance station from which a crew 
with scrapers operates. 

Just about as fast as they get the sand scraped off it blows 
back. Just about as fast as it blows back they scrape it off 
enabling travel to pursue its sandy way. Some of the dunes 
are 400 feet high and they shift eternally, encroaching upon 
the road in some places, receding from it in others, but always 
moving. 

What the Highway Commission is going to do it doesn't 
know, and nobody else does. Expert advice has been re- 
ceived from many non-technical road enthusiasts, some of 
whom have suggested sand sheds, similar to the snow sheds 
of the Sierras, others a tunnel like that proposed under the 
English Channel between England and France, while others 
have advocated a structure like the Yolo Causeway properly 
magnified. In the meantime the Highway Commission 
keeps silent, the sand keeps blowing and the maintenance 
crew keeps scraping with the result that a sort of balance 
has been established which makes travel safe where once it 
was extremely dangerous. The lover of the unusual will like 
the trip over this route. 

[ 109 ] 



CHAPTER XVII 

state highway routes — (Continued) 

Route 28 — Redding to Alturas. 

The county seat lateral from Redding on the upper 
Sacramento Valley highway to Alturas, the county seat of 
Modoc County. It runs over a remote mesa to the east and 
south of Mount Shasta and to the north of Lassen Peak, 
and has no strikingly attractive features, save that good 
fishing and hunting, mighty good fishing and hunting, are 
thereabouts to be had — for deer are in the yellow pine 
forests and utterly uneducated trout are in the seldom- 
visited lakes. 

Route 29 — Red Bluff to Susanville. 

This route connects Susanville, the county seat of Lassen 
County, with the upper reaches of the Sacramento Valley 
highway at Red Bluff. It has been scarcely touched as yet 
so far as construction work is concerned, is largely similar, 
in so far as character of country is concerned, to the Redding- 
Alturas lateral, and passes close to the base of Lassen Peak, 
touches Lake Almanor, a famous body of water backed up 
by a huge dam put in by the Pacific Gas and Electric Com- 
pany for power purposes, and, finally, near Susanville, 
reaches a lumbering region where, at Westwood, are huge 
mills. Under the 191 9 state bond issue an extension is 
provided fifty-three miles in length to the Nevada line, from 
which place Nevada is building a road to Reno. 

Route 30 — Oroville to Quincy. 
This is the famous and much-disputed-over Feather River 

[no] 




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State Highway Routes 

Canyon route, and constitutes the Plumas County lateral to 
the Sacramento Valley trunk line of the State Highway 
which it reaches by the Oroville lateral. This lateral was 
provided for under the first State Highway bond issue, 
different routes being surveyed from time to time, the 
Feather River Canyon route being finally adopted, and 
funds therefor — possibly sufficient — set aside in the 
1 91 9 bond issue. It is a scenic route undeniably, running 
through the canyon of the Feather River, this canyon being 
a gorge with walls that are just about straight up and down. 
It is claimed to be the only pass over the Sierras in the 
northern portion of California that is free from snow except 
for a couple of weeks each year, and involves a mass of 
heavy and expensive construction work. 

It is one of the most scenic of the State Highway routes, 
trends through an ideal hunting and fishing country and, in 
addition, supplies Quincy in Plumas County with a way to 
the outer world. 

Route 31 — San Bernardino to Barstow. 

This route climbs over Cajon Pass from San Bernardino 
and reaches to Barstow in the midst of the Mojave Desert. 
It is paved, thanks to San Bernardino County, to the very 
top of Cajon Pass and is to be further improved by the 
State Highway commission, connects with that important 
highway which sweeps to the west from Topoc, Arizona, 
across a wide arched bridge and then from Needles traverses 
the vast width of San Bernardino County and carries its full 
burden of transcontinental travel into California, the Cajon 
Pass over which the Salt Lake Railroad climbs being 
popularly known as the gateway into southern California. 

Route 32 — From Califa to Gilroy. 

Popularly known as the Pacheco Pass road, this route 
supplies a short and direct connection between the coast 
and valley highways. Originating in Fresno County on the 
east, passing through Merced County, and then climbing 
over not particularly interesting hills and dropping into 

[ml 



California Highways 

Santa Clara County, it connects with the coast line at 
Gilroy. It is a needed route, has merely been surveyed so 
far but will bear a big volume of traffic in summer, made up 
of residents of the hot interior valleys seeking the beach 
resorts of Santa Cruz and Monterey. 

Route 33 — Bakersfield to Paso Robles. 

Just about the same kind of a road as the Pacheco Pass. 
It affords a cross tie-up between coast and valley highways 
between Kern County and San Luis Obispo County. It 
passes through richly producing oil fields in Kern County, 
is paved there, thanks to the enterprise of the people, and 
forms an important link in the State Highway system. 

Route 34 — Arno to Picketts Junction. 

This route runs to the eastward from the Sacramento- 
Los Angeles valley highway, leaving it at Arno in Sacra- 
mento County; is paved for a short distance, thanks to 
Sacramento County; and reaches Jackson, Amador County, 
supplying the county seat lateral thereto, required by law. 
From Jackson it climbs over the Sierras by way of the Kit 
Carson Pass and connects in Alpine County with the high- 
way which reaches up on the east side of the Sierras. 

It forms or will form when it is put in shape, for in 19 19 
it is hardly more than a survey along existing roads, a 
mighty interesting trip past mountain lakes, through rugged 
scenery where are great precipices along which the road 
skirts, and through the old-time mining country of Cali- 
fornia, where today gold is being produced. 

Route 35 — Peanut to Kunz. 

This route is popularly called the Peanut Road and prop- 
erly so for it doesn't touch the State Highway at all. It 
originates some distance south of Weaverville, the county 
seat of Trinity County, and is connected therewith by 
county roads. It connects at its other end with Trinity and 
Humboldt county roads that in turn connect with the coast 
line State Highway a little south of Eureka and is kept in 

[IK] 




Up Levining Creek Canyon on Tioga Road. 



iff ■ t 




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a*Mi*, 




State Highway in the mountains of Mono County. 




*& 







6 "S 



State Highway Routes 

good shape by the California Highway Commission. It 
traverses a remote section of the state where deer leap out of 
the road now and then and where trout are to be had. 

Route 36 — Downieville to Mount Pleasant. 

In Sierra County. Doesn't go anywhere particularly 
and is about as crooked and steep a short stretch of road as 
one could wish to see. Some astute legislator wished this on 
the State Highway commission. 

Route 37 — Auburn to Truckee. 

This is a link in the road over the Sierras which affords an 
alternative way to Lake Tahoe from Sacramento, the other 
way being by Placerville touched upon under Route 11. 
It climbs over the Sierras, looks down upon Donner Lake, 
where the Donner party froze and starved in the early days, 
is fairly well paved nearly up to the top of the Sierras on the 
western slope and reaches Truckee, from which place under 
the 1919 bond issue it has been extended to the California 
line near Verdi, Nevada. Will be, in part only, paved with 
concrete. Supplies a vastly worth-while scenic trip. See 
Route 15. 

Route 38 — Myers to Truckee via McKinneys and 
Lake Tahoe. 

This route forms a link, the northern link it may be said, 
in the east-of-the-Sierras highway connecting Myers in El 
Dorado County with Truckee. It is a scenic road fairly 
well improved and cared for, skirts the shores of Lake Tahoe 
and trends down the upper reaches of the Truckee River to 
Truckee through a country so well known and so attractive 
as to need little comment. See Route 15. 

Route 39 — Tahoe City to Nevada Line at Crystal Bay. 

This short route skirts the north shore of Lake Tahoe 
and is a popularly traveled road. 

[113] 



California Highways 

Route 40 — From Montezuma, in Tuolumne County, 
over the Sierras to the Highway on the Eastern 
Slope. 

This is the Tioga and the Big Oak Flat Road which scales 
the Sierras at 9940 feet over Tioga Pass. It is of wonderful 
scenic attraction, passing for a long distance through 
Yosemite National Park — not the valley — and the Tuolumne 
Meadows, and is generally a fine camping area. It has easy 
grades, is cared for jointly by the State Highway Commission 
and Government, and is one of California's most popular 
tours. 

Route 41 — General Grant Park to Kings River 

Canyon. 

Is a stretch of road in the southeastern part of Fresno 
County; is not connected with the rest of the State Highway 
system except by county roads but is in one of the most 
scenic and least known sections of California and should be 
visited by everyone. Additional funds were supplied for this 
road by the 19 19 State Highway bond issue. See Fresno 
County. 

Route 42 — Saratoga Gap through Redwood Park to 
Bloom's Mill. 

This is the Big Basin road, popularly called. It is close to 
San Francisco, connecting with the State Highway at Sara- 
toga in Santa Clara County and is probably the most 
attractive touring trip close to San Francisco Bay. A huge 
redwood grove, set aside as a state park and popularly 
known as the Big Basin, is reached by this road, which is now 
under improvement and eventually will be paved. 

Route 43 — San Bernardino to Bear Lake. 

Popularly known as the One-Hundred-and-One-Mile 
Drive on the Rim of the World. It is. See San Bernardino 
County. A change in route was made by the 19 19 State 
Highway bond issue involving a fourteen-mile stretch between 
Deep Creek and Metcalf Creek. 

["4] 



State Highway Routes 

Route 44 — Boulder Creek to Redwood Park. 

This is a connection between the Santa Cruz County 
paved highway system and the Big Basin road, Route 
Forty-two. 

Route 45 — Willows to Route 3. 

North of Biggs. Made State Highway by special act of 
the Legislature in 1919; no funds therefor, however, were 
supplied. 

Route 46 — Klamath River from Valley Highway Near 
hornbrook to the coast hlghway north of eureka. 

A joint state and Federal enterprise, one hundred seventy- 
seven miles in length. Follows canyon of Klamath River, 
passes through Trinity National Forest, and will be, when 
developed, one of California's most interesting scenic trips, 
reaching into a little-known section of the state. To be 
surfaced with local materials. 

Route 47 — Orland to Chico. 

A cross tie-up twenty miles in length between east and 
west side Sacramento Valley highways. To be paved with 
concrete. 

Route 48 — McDonalds to Mouth of Navarro River. 

Is forty-seven miles in length. Leaves Coast highway at 
Sonoma-Mendocino county line, passes through Anderson 
Valley in Mendocino County, and will be the first state road 
reaching the coast north of San Francisco. 

Route 49 — Calistoga to Lower Lake. 

Connects road systems of Napa and Lake counties, about 
thirty-two miles in length but was not restricted as to route. 
Will supplant an existing toll road and is probably to be 
paved with concrete. 

Route 50 — Rumsey to Lower Lake. 
Connects the road system of Yolo County with Lake 

[115] 



California Highways 

County points. Follows Cache Creek canyon most of the 
way and will form an attractive touring trip. Is thirty-five 
miles in length and is to be paved with concrete. 

Route 51 — Schellville to Santa Rosa. 

Forms a short-cut connection between two State Highway 
lines in Sonoma County, passes the farthest north of Cali- 
fornia's Missions, at Sonoma, and traverses the beautiful 
Sonoma Valley, Jack London's "Valley of the Moon." It 
is twenty-four miles in length and is to be paved with con- 
crete. 

Route 52 — Tiburon to Alto. 

In Marin County, five miles in length and intended to 
supply additional ferry service and relieve traffic congestion 
at Sausalito. Will be paved with concrete. 

Route 53 — Rio Vista to Suisun-Fairfield. 

In connection with the paved highway systems of San 
Joaquin and Sacramento counties forms a short cut through 
Solano County between interior points and the California 
upper coast, is twenty-four miles in length, and is to be paved 
with concrete. 

Route 54 — Michigan Bar to Dry Town. 

An extension, twelve miles in length, of the Sacramento 
County highway system into the old-time mining region of 
California. Will connect Sacramento with Jackson, county 
seat of Amador County. 

Route 55 — Skyline Boulevard, San Francisco 
to Santa Cruz. 

A co-operative undertaking sixty-seven miles in length by 
the state and San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and 
Santa Cruz counties. Will supplement the present highway 
south from San Francisco, relieve a congested traffic con- 
dition, and supply an extremely attractive drive. Is to be 
paved with concrete twenty feet in width and six inches in 
depth. 

[n6] 



State Highway Routes 

Route 56 — Carmel to San Simeon. 

Along the coast through lower Monterey and upper San 
Luis Obispo County. Is ninety-seven miles in length, passes 
through the Monterey National Forest, and will supply a 
wonderfully scenic route. To be surfaced with local material* 

Route 57 — Freeman to Santa Maria. 

From the State Highway at Freeman, in the eastern part 
of Kern County, to the State Highway at Santa Maria, in 
Santa Barbara County. Is two hundred two miles in length. 
Practically crosses Kern County from east to west, follows 
the Cuyama River through Santa Barbara County. Crosses 
the lower end of the Sierras over Walker's Pass and, where 
paved roads are not supplied by Santa Barbara and Kern 
counties, will be surfaced with local material. 

Route 58 — Needles to Mojave. 

This route, two hundred fifty-five miles in length, extends 
entirely across San Bernardino County in a general east- 
wardly and westwardly direction, with an extension into 
Kern County, where connection is had with an existing State 
Highway route. 

The eastern terminal is commonly regarded as Needles, 
California, but as a matter of fact is on the California line 
opposite Topoc, Arizona, a few miles below Needles, at 
which point a wide span crosses the Colorado River. 

This route, in so far as San Bernardino County is con- 
cerned, was comprehended in the state's road plan through 
the work of Supervisor R. L. Riley of San Bernardino 
County, and is touched upon in the chapter which deals with 
that county. 

It will form one of the main entrances into California for 
transcontinental travel, will be principally a touring road, 
and is to be surfaced with local material. 

Route 59 — Lancaster to Baileys. 
This route, forty miles in length, traverses the Antelope 

[117] 



California Highways 

Valley in Los Angeles County, supplies a cross-line between 
the State Highway route which trends north to the east of 
the Sierras, and the Ridge route. Will be paved with con- 
crete. Connects with Los Angeles from Lancaster by way of 
Mint Canyon. 

Route 60 — Oxnard to San Juan Capistrano. 

From Oxnard, in Ventura County, to San Juan Capis- 
trano, in Orange County, one hundred thirty miles. Passes 
through Ventura, Los Angeles, and Orange counties and 
follows the shore line of the Pacific throughout. 

This is a scenic route, is to be paved with concrete twenty 
feet wide and six inches thick, as it will bear no little com- 
mercial traffic, and supplies an alternative route to an already 
existing stretch of State Highway. 

Route 6i — La Canada to Mount Wilson. 

A co-operative undertaking shared in by the state, Los 
Angeles County, the city of Pasadena, and the United States 
Forest Service. It penetrates an outing section to the north 
of Mount Wilson, is ten miles in length, and is commonly 
known as the Arroyo Seco Drive. To be surfaced with local 
material and in time will probably be connected with 
Route 62. 

Route 62 — Azusa to Pine Flat. 

Also in Los Angeles County and also a co-operative under- 
taking in which the state, the county, and the Forest Service 
participate. It is, in part, in the Angelus National Forest 
and opens up an attractive camping place. Is to be surfaced 
with local material and will sometime be connected with 
Route 61. 

Route 63 — Big Pine to Oasis. 

A high Sierra scenic road in the Inyo National Forest 
connecting the State Highway line east of the Sierras with 
Nevada points by way of Westgaard Pass. Is forty miles in 
length and will be surfaced with local material. 

[u8] 




a 



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A 



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1? 



State Highway Routes 

Route 64 — Mecca to Blythe. 

Through the desert section of Riverside County for one 
hundred miles. Forms a short-cut route for transcontinental 
tourists into California and when taken over by the State 
relieved Riverside County of its most harassing road problem. 
See chapter on Riverside County. 



["9] 



CHAPTER XVIII 

CAMPAIGNING FOR GOOD ROADS 

The first thing to do," said some long-forgotten wit when 
discussing the best formula for the construction of rabbit 
pie, "is to go out and get your rabbit." The main thing to do 
when road improvement is contemplated is to provide funds, 
and these funds, in any comprehensive highway development 
plan, can rarely be acquired by any other method than by 
the issuance of county bonds — the building of roads out of 
moneys raised by direct tax being too slow a process save in 
a few isolated instances where highway needs are unusually 
small and financial capacity is unusually large. 

It may properly be said that the building of good roads, 
involves four separate processes: First, the creation of a 
sentiment therefor ; second, the development of such a system 
as will best meet with the general county need; third, the 
securing of the rabbit, the needed funds; and, fourth, actual 
road construction. 

Happily, in California the first of these processes is now a 
very simple affair, for so many county highways have been 
put down that there is scarcely a man or woman or child in 
this state who does not know the actual money-saving, 
economic value of the good road. This condition was not, 
however, always existent and as recently as 191 6 the Good 
Roads Bureau of the California State Automobile Associa- 
tion was quite a busy department. Like George Ade, when 
he was working for his first boss, it had a comparatively lazy 
time, being allowed anywhere from twelve to eighteen hours 
to finish up its day's work. 

This work began, in its preliminary stages, by sending out 
to all the newspapers of the county which was being invaded 

[120] 




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Campaigning for Good Roads 

statistics telling how hauling costs were cut, how property 
values were increased, how the good road helped the country 
school, the country housewife, the man who sold and the 
woman who bought all kinds of country produce — this 
material, in the main, being supplied by various publications 
put forth by the United States Department of Agriculture 
through its Bureau of Public Roads. 

Meetings were held in schoolhouses and halls before the 
various Parent-Teachers Associations, Mothers Clubs, 
Granges, Farm Bureau centers, and similar organizations 
until such a time as sentiment in favor of highway improve- 
ment had crystallized sufficiently to discuss the development 
of some definite plan. 

Then a delegation of citizens usually called upon the 
County Board of Supervisors, which, in most instances, was 
waiting to be asked to do something that it really wanted to 
do and was willing to lend a very receptive ear, whereupon 
the question of how great a road mileage should be put in and 
where the proposed roads should be built became at once the 
main issue. 

In this connection it may be said that not one single county 
in which the Good Roads Bureau has campaigned has been 
able to provide all the roads that everybody wanted, so the 
development of such a system as would secure the two-thirds 
majority needed to pass a bond issue has always assumed a 
more or less puzzling aspect. 

In meeting this situation one agency has done more than 
all others to pour oil upon the troubled waters and to con- 
solidate public sentiment upon a- feasible plan, this agency 
being the United States Bureau of Public Roads, which, 
upon application from the proper source, has sent its road- 
building engineers into the various counties, has investigated 
the existent economic demand and adjusted it to the existent 
financial capacity, recommending such a road system as 
would best respond to the general county need. 

The value of this service has been almost immeasurable, 
for, while the tendency of human nature is to regard any plan 
developed by one's daily associates as being subject to criti- 

[121] 



California Highways 

cism and not above reproach, the dictum of an engineer of 
the United States Bureau of Public Roads assumes almost 
the aspect of Holy Writ. In the first place he is a road- 
building engineer whose competency is guaranteed. In the 
second place the honesty of his purpose and his personal 
integrity are above suspicion. He has no personal axe to 
grind; is not commercially interested in this material or that 
material which goes into road making. He has no local 
interests, does not own property in the county and so is free 
from any personal prejudice or bias. He studies the county 
from a traffic standpoint, views soil conditions, investigates 
the financial capacity of the county, and reports, laying out 
such a system as will meet with general county needs and 
come within the realm of possibility from a financial stand- 
point, suggesting even the life and rate of interest on the 
proposed bonds. And then he bows himself out, every cent 
of his salary and expenses being paid by the Government, 
which supplies an implied guarantee that his recommen- 
dation is sound, wise, and economical in every respect. 
Usually the advice of the Bureau of Public Roads has been 
accepted, with occasionally minor changes. 

And then comes t^at trying period when active cam- 
paigning for the proposed bond issue takes place. 

First of all every newspaper in the county is enlisted in the 
cause, then more meetings are held, stereopticon lectures are 
delivered that ramble as far back as the Appian Way, and 
lantern slides are shown of what other counties are doing 
and of what the particular county on the dissecting table has 
not done. 

"Movies" show pictures of children slipping and sliding 
to the one-room schoolhouse over muddy roads in com- 
parison with children going dry-shod over paved highways 
to the modern union school in the modern motor bus, as well 
as automobiles struggling in the embrace of mud. 

The matter of getting crowds to listen to good-roads 
speeches, which, in all humility, are admitted to be as lacking 
in attractiveness as the Dismal Swamp, is easily accom- 
plished by renting some of the earlier reels of Messrs. Fair- 

[122] 




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Campaigning for Good Roads 

banks, Arbuckle or Charley Chaplin by way of entertainment, 
serving last as dessert to hold the crowd, a two-weeks' 
campaign of daily and not infrequently two daily meetings 
being just about as much of active campaigning as the 
average mortal can stand. 

In the meanwhile the women are always busy, each woman 
with a certain section of the local telephone book allotted to 
her, calling up different people, finding out how they stand, 
converting them if conversion is needed, and urging upon 
them the necessity of going to the polls on election day. 

Post cards from women in the country to women in the 
city, if the urban campaign situation justifies, asking them as 
sisters to help get good roads from the farm to town, or from 
city women to country women on the theory that better roads 
will supply a better market for farm produce if the cam- 
paign situation is reversed. 

Then on election day, as under California laws sixty-seven 
out of every one hundred votes must be recorded in favor of 
good roads to carry the issue, the use of the telephone is 
redoubled and automobiles are put forth to carry favorable 
votes to the polls, in most instances the women who have 
been interested in the campaign working harder than the 
men and almost invariably recording a larger percentage of 
the vote. 

To enter at length into detail as to the good-roads cam- 
paign methods used by the people of California in their fight 
for better highways would involve the infliction of another 
book upon the long-suffering public, but in the main they 
have been sufficiently set forth, and that they have served 
to accomplish the desired result is by way of being a testi- 
monial to their efficacy. 

But in the main the biggest factor, since 1916 at least, has 
been the Bureau of Public Roads, which at that time estab- 
lished a district office in San Francisco, C. H. Sweetser being 
put in charge as district engineer. In January, 191 8, Mr. 
Sweetser entered the army as captain of engineers and saw 
active service, following which he resigned his captaincy and 
in August, 1 919, took charge of the office which he had left. 

[ I2 3] 



California. Highways 

In his absence Mr. B. J. Finch served as district engineer, 
being transferred to District 12, with headquarters at Ogden, 
Utah, upon Captain Sweetser's return. Under the direction 
of these men the Bureau of Public Roads has helped mightily 
in keeping the California standard of road building up to a 
high mark and has had in the field at various times Senior 
Highway Engineers W. H. Lynch, E. J. Wulff, and D. E. 
Henry, the latter being now detailed to this work. 

That the United States Bureau of Public Roads will play 
a continuing part in the highway development of California 
for some time to come is assured by the fact that in the next 
few years the United States will expend in this state approxi- 
mately $9,000,000 in Federal aid of post and forest roads, 
the construction of which it is the function of this govern- 
mental bureau to oversee. 

Including this sum, the amount of money to be expended 
in California during the six years, beginning with 1920, on 
road construction approximates the enormous total of two 
hundred million dollars. This includes road, highway, and 
bridge construction, maintenance, and repairs, and is derived 
as follows: 

Unexpended funds 191 6 State Highway bond 

issue $4,000,000 

State bond issue 1919 40,000,000 

County bond issues, voted and proposed 27,000,000 

Automobile license fund, state and county .... 20,000,000 

Federal Aid post and forest roads 9,000,000 

Funds derived from county taxes 100,000,000 



$200,000,000 

This estimate is conservative rather than otherwise, 
assuming that the present prosperity will continue through- 
out the United States during the period covered, at the end 
of which time California, already leading her sister states in 
highway development, will have made such further progress 
as perhaps to excuse Californians for boasting a bit over the 
development of California's highways. 

[124] 



CHAPTER XIX 

California's good roads counties 

In supplementing the State Highway system the counties 
of California have shown a progressive spirit in the 
development of paved highway systems, both by bond 
ssue, by direct tax on the pay-as-you-go theory, and by the 
ntelligent use of current road funds, the following bond 
ssues having been passed in the year and amount set forth: 

Year County 

867 Lake 

907 Plumas 

908 Sacramento 

909 Los Angeles 

909 San Joaquin 

909 San Diego 

911 Glenn 

911 Ventura 

912 Orange 

912 San Benito 

913 San Mateo 

913 Orange 

913 Kern 

914 Riverside 

914 Colusa 

915 Santa Barbara 

915 Ventura 

915 Monterey 

915 San Bernardino 

916 Sacramento 



Interest Rate 


Amount 


5 


|48,OCO.OO 


4 


I00.000.00 


4^ 


825,000.00 


4^ 


3,500,000.00 


5 , 


1,890,000.00 


4^ 


1,250,000.00 


5 


450,000.00 


5 


275,000.00 


5 


100,000.00 


5 


300,000.00 


5 


1,250,000.00 


5 


I,l60,000.00 


4^ 


2,500,000.00 


4^ 


1,125,000.00 


5 


290,000.00 


5 


350,000.00 


5K 


1,000,000.00 


6 


570,000.00 


5 


1,750,000.00 


4^ 


1,750,000.00 




J20,483,000.00 



[125] 



California Highways 

Year County Interest Rate Amount 

Carried forward $20,483,000,00 

916 Stanislaus 5 1,482,000.00 

917 Tulare 5. 2,200,000.00 

917 Alameda 5 200,000.00 

918 Merced 5 1,250,000.00 

919 Fresno 5 4,800,000.00 

919 Sonoma 5 1,640,000.00 

919 Napa 5 500,000.00 

919 Santa Cruz 5 924,000.00 

919 Imperial 5 1,000,000.00 

919 Ventura 5 580,000.00 

919 Modoc 5 400,000.00 

919 Contra Costa 5 2,600,000.00 

919 Yolo 5 1,000,000.00 

919 Sutter 5 810,000.00 

919 San Diego . . 2,300,000.00 



Total $42,169,000.00 

Of these bond issues the Lake County issue was "to satisfy 
a judgment and buy a toll road," the Plumas County issue 
was for bridges, and the Glenn County issue was intended 
mainly to supply bridges for the State Highway, the Colusa 
County issue being for State Highway rights of way and 
bridges. The 191 1 Ventura County bond issue was voted 
for a State Highway bridge, while the entire $275,000 raised 
in Santa Barbara was used in supplying bridges and paving 
roads for the State Highway Commission, then at the height 
of its troubles. 

The San Diego bond issue of 1909 was voted merely for 
the establishment of engineering grades, a supplementary 
bond issue being passed in the latter part of 191 9 to pave 
these roads, while San Benito County in 191 2 and Modoc 
County in 1919 did not comprehend any paved road work 
in their bonding plans, merely the establishment of engineer- 
ing grades to be surfaced with local materials and the con- 
struction of permanent culverts and bridges. Orange County 
voted in 191 1 for $100,000 for State Highway bridges, and 

|>6] 



California's Good Roads Counties 



the sum of $225,000 of the 1908 Sacramento County bond 
issue was in the main applied on bridge work on State High- 
way routes. 

So far as paved highways are concerned those counties 
which, either by direct tax or by bonding, have built per- 
manent roads are treated hereafter at some length. Marin 
County and Solano County, which have built by other than 
bonding methods are now contemplating bond issues, as 
are Butte and Colusa counties, while Humboldt has started 
preliminary work in this respect and San Luis Obispo 
County, where a bond issue was defeated by a few votes 
in the fall of 19 19, is, as the Missourian says, "rearing to go" 
again. 

So far as the total road mileage of California state and 
counties is concerned the tabulation presented is scarcely 
more than approximate, yet, where direct information has 
been unobtainable from any particular county, data sup- 
plied by the State Board of Agriculture have been used, so 
the total paved road mileage and total mileage of all county 
roads chronicled may be regarded as about as accurate as 
can possibly be arrived at. 



County 


Miles Paved 
County 


Miles Paved 
State 


Total Paved 

Mileage 

County and 

State 


Total County 

Road Mleage 

Paved and 

Unpaved 


Alameda 

Alpine 


52.19 


54.48 


IO6.67 


533- 00 
200 . 00 


Amador 


15.00 


52.14 


67.I4 


580.00 

1400.00 

600 . 00 


Butte 

Calaveras 


Colusa 

Contra Costa. . . 
Del Norte 


15591 


42.46 

20.57 


42.46 
I76.48 


1169.00 
700 . 00 
125.00 


El Dorado 




22.10 


22. IO 


900 . 00 


Fresno 


315-5° 


33 - 8 3 


349-33 


5000 . 00 


Glenn 

Humboldt 


10.00 


2 5-93 
12.26 


*S-93 
22.26 

812.37 


1368.00 
1348.00 




548.60 


263.77 


13923.00 




[127] 







California Highways 



County 

Carried forward . 

Imperial 

Inyo 

Kern 

Kings 

Lake 

Lassen 

Los Angeles .... 

Madera 

Marin 

Mariposa 

Mendocino 

Merced 

Modoc 

Mono 

Monterey 

Napa 

Nevada 

Orange 

Placer 

Plumas 

Riverside 

Sacramento 

San Benito 

San Bernardino. 

San Diego 

San Francisco... 

San Joaquin 

San Luis Obispo 

San Mateo 

Santa Barbara. . 
Santa Clara. . . . 
Santa Cruz 



Miles Paved 
County 

548.60 



23O.O7 
IO3.79 



6oi . 50 
54.OO 

IO7.5O 

8l .00 
3I.OO 

163.9O 



I4O.56 
I50.00 

220.38 

I55.00 

20.00 

32I.70 

I 50 . OO 
I08.00 

97-3° 
39.10 



Miles Paved 
State 

263.77 

47.76 
8.56 

72.62 
9.OI 



177.96 

27.9O 

22.86 
11.80 

49.56 



94.64 

15.45 
3.04 

43 .01 
34.62 

19.66 

59-38 
16.76 
48.87 
68.11 

60.30 

58.73 
20.15 
74.29 

9.89 



Total Paved 

Mileage 

County and 

State 

812.37 

47.76 

8.56 

302.69 

II2.80 



779.46 
27.9O 
76.86 

II.80 
I57.06 



I75.64 
46.45 

3-04 
206.9I 

34.62 

l60.22 
209.38 

16.76 
269.25 
223. II 

20.00 
382.OO 

58.73 
I70.I5 

182.29 

I 60 . 62 

48.99 



Total County 

Road Mileage 

Paved and 

Unpaved 

I3923.OO 
IOOO.OO 

923 . OO 

2I80.00 

600 . OO 

700 . OO 

1700.00 

3500.00 

1 250 . OO 

400 . OO 

500 . OO 

800 . OO 

1218.00 

650 . OO 

425.00 

2070 . OO 

560.00 

800 . OO 

615.00 

1200.00 

550.00 

1714.00 

1419.00 

468.00 

4331.00 

5000 . OO 

200.00 

1350.00 

1353.00 

284 . OO 

1143.00 

1 200 . OO 
450 . OO 



33 2 3-4° 1382.02 

[128] 



4705.42 54296.00 



California's Good Roads Counties 



County 

Carried forward 

Shasta 

Sierra 

Siskiyou 

Solano 

Sonoma 

Stanislaus 

Sutter 

Tehama 

Trinity 

Tulare 

Tuolumne 

Ventura 

Yolo 

Yuba 



Miles Paved 
County 



Miles Paved 
State 



Total Paved 

Mileage 

County and 

State 



33 2 3-4° 1382.02 



25.00 

93-40 
131.00 

87.50 



220.00 

144.50 
75.00 



47.24 
33-i8 
48.82 
11 .70 
29.91 

61.27 

42.94 
36.92 

12.50 



47°5- 


42 


72 


24 


126 


58 


i79 


82 


99 


20 


29 


9 1 


281 


•27 


'187 


•44 


III 


.92 


12 


•5° 



Total County 

Road Mileage 

Paved and 

Unpaved 

54296 . OO 

I800.00 

379.00 

I4OO.OO 

700 . OO 

2000.00 

I200.00 

400 . OO 

750 . OO 

400 . OO 

3600.00 

868.00 
554.00 

800 . OO 
600.00 



Total 4099.80 1706.50 5806.3069747.00 

In supplying an estimate of the paved road mileage of the 
state all typ^s of paving, concrete, surfaced and unsurfaced, 
oil macadam, and asphaltic construction — have been in- 
cluded under the head of paved roads, owing to the fact 
that it approximates the impossible to go into such detail as 
would be necessary to segregate the different types, the 
mileage of paved roads voted and otherwise provided for 
being comprehended even though construction work has 
just begun. 

In this connection it may be said that only a very few 
counties in California have adopted any other type of pav- 
ing than the concrete base for county-wide highway systems 
built under bond issues, these being Sacramento County, 
under the 1908 bond issue, San Joaquin, Kings, and 
Monterey, with perhaps Los Angeles properly included, as 
the major part of the system voted for in that county in 1909 
was of oil macadam. 



[ I2 9J 



California Highways 

With these exceptions all the counties have put down or 
are planning concrete, except in outlying districts where 
travel is too light in character to justify expensive pave- 
ment, these outlying roads sometimes being surfaced with 
local materials and sometimes being of oil or asphaltic con- 
struction, the widespread adoption of concrete resulting no 
doubt from the advice of the engineers of the United States 
Bureau of Public Roads and the California Highway Com- 
mission, who have declared that the concrete base alone 
supplies that element of permanency which is the only 
justification for borrowing money over long periods of time 
for road construction — common sense dictating the necessity 
of supplying a type of pavement which will last under 
economical maintenance until the money borrowed is paid 
back and county credit once again restored. 

So it may be said that the California standard pavement 
for both state arid county work is the concrete base. In 
some instances this base is left unsurfaced until such a time 
as it begins to show wear, but the general practice is to put 
on some protective covering promptly in order to guard 
against that wear and tear supplied by steel-shod traffic 
which will continue until the horse and wagon become 
adjuncts of museums instead of wayfarers upon the highway. 

In protecting their roads engineers throughout California 
have adopted many different kinds of surfacing, in the main 
following State Highway specifications, although some have 
put on one or the other of the different patented tops, some 
of which, it may be said, are excellent and supply a greater 
factor of safety than that of the State Highway, by reason of 
the fact that they are not so prone to become "skiddy" in 
wet weather. 

In touching upon the work done by counties in the ex- 
tension of the California Highway system it is only fair to 
mention the undertaking of the Natomas Company of 
California, a corporation engaged in reclaiming thousands 
upon thousands of acres of rich bottom lands along the 
Sacramento River. To supply those who have bought land 
and are producing huge tonnages of agricultural products, 

[ W ] 



California's Good Roads Counties 

this company has built a concrete highway thirteen miles in 
length, fifteen feet in width, on top of the protecting levee 
along the Sacramento River, with side roads leading down 
into the agricultural districts and here and there a roadway 
giving access to some pleasant camping place along the river 
bank — this road being put in under the direction of Mr. 
Emory Oliver, the general manager, who believed that, 
while no specific promise was made to purchasers, it 
was the part of sound judgment to supply them with a 
modern road over which they might economically haul their 
crops to market or shipping point. 

In addition to being commercially needed this road 
supplies one of the most attractive drives radiating from 
Sacramento and is, in time, to be extended by Sacramento 
County to the Sutter County line, where a connection is 
already provided for under the bond issue passed in that 
county. 

In the succeeding chapters the accomplishments of Cali- 
fornia's counties are chronicled at length, the co-operation 
of the Boards of Supervisors, Chambers of Commerce, and 
Boards of Trade of the counties described making possible 
the compilation and publication of this volume. 



[131] 



CHAPTER XX 

ALAMEDA COUNTY 

The road problems of Alameda County are compara- 
tively simple, owing to the fact that the widespread city 
limits of Oakland, Alameda, and Berkeley, the three principal 
cities, relieve the county of many miles of road which, paved 
by the cities named, none the less join in making up a county- 
wide system of highways, one of which, the "Skyline Boule- 
vard," constitutes one of the most spectacular drives in 
California, if not in the United States. 

With a comparatively limited road mileage, which in main- 
traveled highways amounts to only three hundred thirty 
miles, it may be seen that current funds supply all the money 
needed for road improvement, the financial condition of this 
county being excellent, with an assessed valuation of more 
than $300,000,000 and no bonded debt. 

Including the State Highway, which supplies an east and 
west trunk line from Oakland to the San Joaquin County 
line by way of Hayward, at which point another route of the 
State Highway diverges reaching San Jose, in Santa Clara 
County, passing through Niles and by the old Mission San 
Jose, the paved roads of the county in the latter part of 1 919 
showed an extent of 106.67 miles. 

With centers of population of the size of Oakland and San 
Francisco so close at hand it will be seen at once that a road 
tonnage of more than ordinary proportions must be provided 
for, and to meet this need the Alameda County Board of 
Supervisors, made up of John F. Mullins, chairman, of 
Oakland; D. J. Murphy, Livermore; Charles W. Heyer, 
Hayward; Wm. J. Hamilton, Oakland; and R. C. Staats, 
Berkeley, has provided concrete highways five inches thick, 

[132] 




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A stretch of Alameda County highway that carries 
tremendous volume of touring traffic . 



Alameda County 

varying in width from eighteen to twenty-six feet, the en- 
gineers actively in charge of the work under the direction of 
the Board of Supervisors being P. A. Haviland, county 
surveyor, and his deputy, George A. Posey. There is com- 
prehended in the road mileage given 52.19 miles of highway 
which, while in part built by the different cities is none the 
less to be regarded as properly a part of the County highway 
system. 

By far the most pleasant aspect of Alameda County's road 
system is that which comprehends its touring development, 
and here can be found ample excuse for enthusiasm in con- 
templating the work done in developing what is commonly 
known as the "Skyline Boulevard," a short tour which 
passes the beautiful expanse of Lake Merritt, in the very 
heart of the city of Oakland, and climbs upward to the high 
crest of the Berkeley Hills, from which point one of the 
amazing views of California is to be had. Far below, the 
cities of Oakland, Berkeley, and Alameda lose their identity 
and mingle into a wide expanse of buildings so microscopic 
in size as to suggest something like Fairyland, while to the 
south the lower reaches of San Francisco Bay merge into the 
marshlands of Santa Clara County. 

Across San Francisco Bay, and over the top of San 
Francisco, perched on its hills as it is, the wide expanse of the 
Pacific ends in a horizon where sea and sky blend imper- 
ceptibly beyond the Golden Gate, where the bluff-like shores 
of San Francisco County and Marin wall in a narrow way 
that leads from the Pacific into one of the finest land-locked 
harbors in the world. On the smooth expanse of bay lie 
Goat Island, beloved of the Navy; Angel Island, where 
quarantine and immigrant detention stations exist; and 
Alcatraz, suggesting in contour some gigantic battleship 
lying flat athwart the entrance to the Golden Gate as if 
awaiting to challenge the ships that come sailing in. 

To the northward the lift of MountTamalpais rises above 
the peaked hills of Marin County, while in the sweep of shore 
which is disclosed may be seen glimpses of San Pablo Bay. 
To the eastward from this road, when it swings around tips 

[^3] 



[134] 



TO PICHMQND.MAB-nNCZ ^ 



LEGEND 



State Highway 
Coi/hty Hi* 



inty Highway 

WALNUT CHECK 1UADTINEZ /-^..„X.' O^SAm 
k V/A TUNNEL BQACt C U fl t y ttOdCIS 



C O ST* 
k 




Alameda County by reason of its wealth has been enabled to put down a satisfactory highway 
mileage without resorting to bonding. 



HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE 

COUNTY 

ALAMEDA 

CALIFORNIA 

SCALE 



TO BY DON 




The State Highway shown is that which carries the burden of traffic from the San Joaquin 
Valley to San Francisco. 







|$% . 




• 






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/* 


■ - v, '■ • * * ■ ' 


- ■;.;- J . . 






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% - ^ 




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/- "5 * : r 5 i • • ! 

*■ ■»» * • «- ■ 

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Alameda County 

So young is the State of California that Californians 
perhaps are more than ordinarily possessed of the impatience 
of youth, demanding a road development that has not even 
been reached in the hundred-year-older East, but in making 
a resume of the road-building accomplishments of Alameda 
County it may be said that great strides have been made and 
greater plans are in the making for a road system that will 
supply not only the commercial needs of the county but also 
a series of matchless scenic boulevards. In the development 
of these the 1919 Oakland Chamber of Commerce, of which 
H. C. Capwell is president, J. R. Millar and George A. Armes, 
vice-presidents, and Joseph E. Caine, secretary and 
managing director, has taken an active part through its 
Good Roads Committee, which is made up of H. O. Knudsen 
of Oakland, chairman; F. V. Jones of Niles, vice-chairman; 
and Charles R. Avis, Charles E. Cornell, F. A. Costello, 
Hugh P. Evans, Dr. C. F. Jarvis, F. E. Kidder, A. J. Klei- 
meyer, R. W. Martland, R. J. McMullen, H. G. McMillan, 
C. B. Mersireau, Hugo Muller, A. C. Ostrom, Arthur 
Ramage, J. B. Racine, G. C. Reinkens, Theo Schlueter, D. J. 
Senclair, C. A. Spears, and V. K. Sturges, all Oakland busi- 
ness men. 

With these men working in conjunction with the Alameda 
County Board of Supervisors, and their engineers, the road 
future of this county is amply safe from the standpoints of 
both sound administration of finances and the development 
of a road system of such magnitude as Alameda County 
should have, and there is no question that around Alameda 
County in the future an area of close-in drives will be devel- 
oped which for proximity to large centers of population and 
scenic attractiveness will match any similar area in the 
United States. 



[ J 37] 



CHAPTER XXI 

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY 

In 1915, Contra Costa County adopted the plan of building 
roads by direct tax, and with the beginning of 191 9 had 
improved forty-eight miles of its highways with exceptionally 
good pavement, eighteen feet wide and five inches thick, 
carrying its road-building enterprises forward even in 191 8 
when practically every other county had been forced to stop. 
Long prior to starting its road paving, however, this county 
had evidenced a desire for better highway conditions by 
undertaking the construction of a tunnel under the Berkeley 
Hills which would supply a direct connection between Contra 
Costa County points and the thickly populated section 
around San Francisco Bay. In this tunnel enterprise the 
co-operation of Alameda County was had, and by no small 
expenditure of funds the two counties eliminated a road of 
arduous grades and made possible an easy way into Contra 
Costa County and to Sacramento Valley points by way of 
the Martinez-Benicia ferry. 

Immediately following this accomplishment real road 
building at once began and for some years the people of 
Contra Costa County "pointed with pride" to their road- 
building accomplishments, but finally, in the spring of 1919, 
awakened to the fact that after five years of road-building 
they only had forty-eight miles of paved highway. Im- 
mediately a sentiment began to grow for another bond issue, 
one having been tried before and failed. And in June, 1919, 
after developing what seemed to them a sound, wise, and 
economical plan, the Board of Supervisors, made up of J. H. 
Trythall, chairman, Antioch; Zeb Knott, Richmond; J. P. 
Casey, Port Costa; Vincent Hook, Concord; and W. J. 

[138] 




<8 
















"3 



^ 
^ 



-5 fc 

R -S 

<J R 
« § 

R^ 
°^ 



Contra Costa County 

Buchanan, Pittsburg, called a meeting of the people of the 
county and set July 22 as the date for an election proposing 
$2,600,000 for paved highways. 

The road plan adopted provided for seventy-two and 
ninety-one hundredths miles of concrete roads eighteen feet 
wide and five inches thick, together with thirty-five miles of 
asphaltic construction on roads which did not carry suf- 
ficient travel to justify a more expensive pavement, these 
roads being of the same width and thickness as the concrete 
highways. 

In so far as the road routing of the highways proposed 
was concerned the general plan was to connect up those 
links already laid down by direct tax into a comprehensive 
county system which would connect at Martinez, the county 
seat, with the through line of the State Highway and no 
sooner was the plan made public than a very general senti- 
ment appeared throughout the county which resulted in the 
formation of the Contra Costa County Good Roads League, 
with George O. Meese, county auditor, as chairman; J. F. 
Brooks, vice-chairman; J. Rio Baker, treasurer; Will R. 
Sharkey, chairman of the finance committee; and Clark T. 
Farnham, secretary of the Martinez Chamber of Commerce, 
secretary. 

The purpose of this organization was to put the bond issue 
across and thus to secure a more rapid road development 
than was possible by direct tax, each supervisorial district 
in the county being provided with a definite campaign com- 
mittee to see that things went well on election day. This 
committee, in supervisorial district one, was made up of 
Harry Pulse, as chairman, with the following members: 
Fred Heckman, Mrs. W. A. Boone, Mrs. K. L. Monroe, Ed. 
Garrard, W. T. Helms, J. F. Galvin, and Supervisor Zeb 
Knott, all of Richmond; James Silvas, Pinole; John Monroe, 
Selby; and Kerk Gray, El Cerrito. George Wall of the 
Richmond Improvement Association; J. O. Ford, city tax 
collector of Richmond; and J. F. Ballinger of the Mechanics 
Bank were other Richmond citizens who volunteered and 
did good work. 

[>39] 



[i 4 o] 



ro SACfiAAf£/Vrt 
AfA/?r//V£Z - 



TORMEYj 

J?CU/ /?OD£offf 

'/s/j/ M COSTA 




LEGEND 



State Hwy. 
County Hwy. 






Contra Costa County after building nearly 50 miles of concrete roads by direct tax voted a 
big bond issue and is developing one of the best county jy stems in the state. 



[Hi] 



*£/V/C/A f£XKV 

SOLANO CO. 




Xv!v 

Afr.D/ASlO 



DANV/LLE 




TASSAJAPA 



TO UV£XMORE 
A/VO HAVWARO 



HIGHWAY MAP 
OF THE 

COUNTY 

OF 

CONTRA COSTA 

CALIFORNIA 



SCALE 



5 
MILES 



\o 



The stretch of road reaching toward the San Joaquin County line from just above Byron 
connects with the Borden Highway and will supply a short cut to Stockton. 



California Highways 

In district two, C. H. Smith of Crockett was chairman of 
the committee comprising Theo. Nissen, Tassajara; J. C. 
Jones, Alamo; A. J. Tavan, Martinez; and Mrs. Charles 
Dodge, Crockett. While in district three, A. S. Ormsby, 
one of the original Contra Costa County road boosters, was 
chairman; E. A. Smith, Joseph Williams, Joseph Boyd 
of Concord, and Mrs. Harry Spencer of Walnut Creek 
making up the committee. 

In district four, D. S. Sirdevan of Bay Point was charged 
with leadership; C. D. Johnson, Bay Point; George Kenner- 
ley, Antioch; Harry Keller, Clayton; and George Oliver, 
Pittsburg, making up his committee. The chairman in 
district five was Volney Taylor of Byron, his committee 
being Wm. Williamson, Antioch; W. Fotheringham, Knight- 
sen ; A. Van Kalhoven, Oakley; and Robert Wallace, Brent- 
wood. 

In the development of the bonding plan up to its crystalli- 
zation in a call for a bond election, the Martinez Chamber 
of Commerce played a continuing and active part, the 
officers of this organization being Ralph H. Wight, president ; 
Frank A. Tyler, vice-president; Frank L. Glass, treasurer; 
the board of directors being R. H. Bender, E. R. Colvin, 
A. E. Dunkel, George Dupen, J. W. McClellan, J. H. Mor- 
row, W. E. Morton, N. J. Nulty, A. S. Ormsby, Don C. Ray, 
F. H. Roberts, and T. B. Swift, while actively assisting them 
was Mr. Warren H. McBryde, of Crockett, formerly a 
member of the Board of Supervisors and at one time presi- 
dent of the Contra Costa County Good Roads League, long 
a power and force in the movement for good roads. 

In reviewing the campaign for a good roads bond issue of 
$2,600,000 in a county that had previously defeated a bond 
issue and thereafter built by direct tax forty-eight miles of 
highly creditable paved highways, and that had been popu- 
larly supposed throughout California to be successfully 
engaged in proving the pay-as-you-go idea as opposed to 
bonds, it is interesting to find a declaration that continuance 
of the direct tax rate method would involve a tax rate of 
seventy-six cents upon the one hundred dollars of assessed 

[142] 




11 

R ~"> 
S* » 

•St 

la 

r 

R .o 

1! 

r ^ 

R ^ 

^ s 
* -^ 
■s ^ 




Good roads have brought good schools to Contra Costa 
County. 




'Two eight-foot slabs of concrete with four feet of oil 
macadam between. An experiment being tried out in 
Contra Costa County. 



Contra Costa County 

valuation, while under the bonding plan, should the county 
not increase one cent in value in twenty-seven years, the life 
of the bonds, the average tax rate would only be thirty cents 
on one hundred dollars of assessed valuation, and that, 
under the normal increase of tax value, would amount to 
only nineteen cents. In addition to this widely presented 
argument the fact that five years of direct tax road building 
had only produced forty-eight miles of road served to swing 
sentiment toward the bond issue, which passed on July 22 by 
a majority of more than fifteen to one, thus ensuring this 
county one of the best road systems in California, for all the 
paved highways are to be at least eighteen feet wide and 
fivQ inches thick, while the man who will build them is 
Ralph R. Arnold, county surveyor, who built the forty-eight 
miles laid down by direct taxation, has had the experience 
derived therefrom to guide him in constructing the splendid 
system proposed, and is one of the best-posted concrete road- 
builders in the state. 

Upon reference to the accompanying map the road plan of 
the county may be seen and in its development there is 
supplied a link in a direct connection between the lower 
Sacramento and the upper San Joaquin valley with San 
Francisco Bay, now commonly called the Borden Highway, 
which originates at Stockton, passes through a tip of Alameda 
County and leads, by way of Antioch, Pittsburg, and Mar- 
tinez, to San Francisco, over a route that should, in time, 
become one of the most popular avenues to central Cali- 
fornia valley points. 

With the establishment of a road system such as Contra 
Costa County now has in the making, it is only natural to 
infer that a commercial need therefor exists, which is im- 
pressively so, as this county, in its western end, for miles 
has deep water frontage upon which some of California's 
biggest manufacturing establishments have been located, 
while in the interior, acres upon acres produce walnuts, 
almonds, deciduous fruits, and grain of all sorts in such 
abundance as to insistently demand good roads and 
eventually require a greater mileage than is now planned. 

[H3] 



CHAPTER XXII 

FRESNO COUNTY 

Fresno County, comprising within its boundaries 5950 
square miles, ranks sixth in size among the counties of the 
state. Situated in the exact center of the great San Joaquin 
Valley and of the state of California, it lies between the 
Sierras to the east and the Coast Range to the west, is one of 
the most productive counties in the state, and has more than 
five thousand miles of roads. 

In dealing with road problems in the past the various 
Boards of Supervisors in charge of county affairs pursued the 
plan of applying oil to the earth roads and secured fairly 
comfortable highways so far as light travel was concerned, 
the roads being free from dust in the summer and passable 
at all times, the expense involved, however, being very great, 
with nothing of permanent result achieved. 

In so far as heavy hauling was concerned, however, the 
oiled roads of Fresno County failed to meet that need which 
was born from an almost phenomenal agricultural develop- 
ment, and so it was that in 191 6 a county- wide road system 
was laid out and a bond campaign undertaken, which, 
however, failed to carry. 

Not in the least disheartened by this defeat, in 191 8 the 
Fresno County Board of Supervisors, made up of Chris 
Jorgensen of Fresno, chairman ; Robert Lochead, Fresno ; J. 
B. Johnson, Fresno ; Charles Wells, Selma ; and W. A. Collins, 
Sanger, called upon the United States Office of Public Roads 
for advice and proceeded to lay out a road system such as 
they thought their county needed. The plan developed 
provided for a bond issue of $4,800,000, the largest bond 
issue ever attempted by any California County for good 

[ 144 ] 




ss 







^ 



3* 



Fresno County 

roads, the system outlined comprehending a total of 315.50 
miles of highway, which will be built under direction of 
County Surveyor Chris P. Jensen. 

The various elements combining to make up a road ton- 
nage of sufficient volume to justify the investment of 
$4,800,000 of public funds in paved highways are interesting, 
affording as they do a glimpse at the wonderful productivity 
of Fresno County's soil, this county having been, since 
1893, the raisin-producing center of the world, a responsi- 
bility which before that time had rested upon Spain. In the 
handling of this crop, which in 191 8 approximated 165,000 
tons, every pound went from point of production to packing 
or shipping place over the county's roads and supplied, 
without further reason almost, justification for a road plan 
of the high type and expense involved. 

In addition to the raisin tonnage, however, about 200,000 
tons of alfalfa are yearly produced in Fresno County, while 
20,000 tons of fresh grapes, easily marred and depreciated in 
value by hauling over bad roads, are marketed each year. 
Fresh and dried figs contribute an additional road burden of 
about 6000 tons, while peaches, apricots, plums, citrus fruits 
of various kinds, and berries, in constantly increasing pro- 
duction, supply more road traffic. 

That a campaign was needed to carry a bond issue approx- 
imating $5,000,000 goes without saying, and the Fresno 
County Good Roads Association, with George S. Waterman 
of Fresno as president, William Glass of Fresno as vice-presi- 
dent, and C. N. Alexander as secretary, was organized for 
this purpose, the directors being Charles L. Adams, Burrel; 
John Braves, Fresno; B. C. Britton, Del Rey; P. K. Carnine, 
Fresno; Charles H. Cobb, Fresno; Z. L. Cornwell, Laton; 
R. W. Dallas, Coalinga; Mrs. W. A. Fitzgerald, Fresno; 
Levi Garrett, Kingsburg; Wylie M. Giffen, Fresno; George 
W. Hensley, Clovis; J. D. Hershler, Reedley; Ernest Hos- 
kins, Auberry; F. L. Irwin, Fresno; J. A. Johnson, Kerman; 
W. F. Jones, Sanger; Frank B. Marks, Dos Palos; H. E. 
McLane, Coalinga ; L. A. Nares, Fresno ; George Ohannesian, 
Fresno; H. E. Patterson, Fresno; C. V. Peterson, Fowler; 

[145] 



ME&C£D COUNTY 



To- Merced t Modesto, 
Stockton, Sacramento, 
San Francisco 




Fresno County has received little so jar from the state > the Coalinga Lateral being under 
construction in the latter part of 1919 in a small part of its length. 




[147] 



The system of county highways shown is that voted for in May, 1919, which is now under 
construction. That portion of the county system passing through Kerman and Mendota will 
in conjunction with roads of Merced, Stanislaus and San Joaquin counties supply an alter- 
native route to San Francisco. 



California Highways 

Mrs. C. F. Reilly, Fresno; W. H. Say, Selma; and Sam B. 
Williams, Helm. 

In addition to this organization the Fresno County 
Chamber of Commerce, with Wm. Glass, president, and 
H. E. Patterson, secretary, took an active part, as did 
practically every other organization throughout the county, 
every member of the Board of Supervisors campaigning 
actively for the success of the bond issue; the district around 
Coalinga giving a vote upon election day of three thousand 
four hundred and twenty-two for the bonds to only eleven 
against, a record which will stand for all time to come as 
evidence of a splendid public spirit and desire for general 
county progress. 

In order to secure the advice of a representative body of 
citizens the Fresno County Board of Supervisors, shortly 
after the bond issue was passed, appointed an advisory com- 
mittee made up of George S. Waterman, E. E. Manheim, 
H. H. Welch, E. J. Bullard, and Harvey Anderson, and this 
body of men has recommended that the system of highways 
now in the building shall be throughout of concrete unless in 
those more remote sections where a lesser type of construc- 
tion will serve traffic needs. 

Reference to the accompanying map will show the general 
plan and scope of the new Fresno County road system, of 
which perhaps the Fresno-Sanger-Reedley Road is the most 
important in point of tonnage served, while the line to 
Coalinga and the one reaching toward Dos Palos, in Merced 
County, are also of great value, the Coalinga connection 
supplying access to the State Highway lateral which reaches 
from Coalinga to the coast, the Dos Palos routing reaching 
the Pacheco Pass lateral which supplies a link in the famous 
Yosemite-to-the-Sea Highway. 

Directly through the center of the county in a general 
north and south direction the main valley trunk line of the 
State Highway supplies a backbone to which the new Fresno 
County system is tied, serving to connect every point in 
Fresno County with the wonderful California highway 
system and bringing into Fresno County each year thousands 

[148] 







1? 



5*. 




S v « 



Kearney Boulevard, Fresno County's most famous 
drive. 



Fresno County 

of tourists, no few of whom find that place of which they have 
dreamed and remain to further develop the county and pro- 
duce yet more tonnage for its roads. 

To contemplate the road situation in Fresno County from 
a purely commercial standpoint would be to do only half 
justice to the subject, for the geographical situation of Fresno 
County and the city of Fresno is such as to make it a natural 
distributing point for those tourists who come to California 
each year in such constantly increasing volume; who travel 
so widely throughout the state, and who enthuse so vastly 
over the extensive development of our state and county 
systems of roads. 

Those automobile tourists traveling the State Highway 
find around Fresno a tremendous area of playground, in 
which, of course, that wonderland, the Yosemite, easily 
stands first in attraction; but only less attractive in small 
degree is a practically unknown area taking in General 
Grant National Park and culminating in the little-advertised 
glories of the Kings River canyon country, where Mount 
Brewer, rising nearly 14,000 feet towards the clouds, with 
its slate-colored pinnacles of solid granite making a serrated 
line against the sky, seems to tower above and dominate 
the entire landscape. 

From the heights of Kearsarge Pass in this Kings River 
region the Owens River valley may be seen, with the minia- 
ture buildings of Independence, the county seat of Inyo 
County, making a tiny patch in the foreground, while the 
barren mountains which fringe Death Valley are also clearly 
in view. The Kearsarge pinnacles and lakes, Deer Horn 
Mountain, Mount Stanford, Mount Brewer, and the sum- 
mits of the Kings-Kern divide are also plainly visible, this 
whole region comparing favorably with any other mountain 
region in California in point of scenic interest and being 
visited by few only because its manifold attractions have 
never been made known. 



[ 149] 



CHAPTER XXIII 

KERN COUNTY 

For many years Kern County was the kingdom of the 
stock raiser with immense herds grazing upon all sides, 
and cattle barons lords of all they surveyed, this era being 
followed by an agricultural development of thousand-acre 
wheat fields which continued for years. 

Then came the discovery of oil, the building of cities, irri- 
gation, land subdivision, and then good roads, until today it 
might be justly said that a great and growing empire exists 
which yearly grows as irrigation is extended and as the few 
last large land holdings are cut up. 

In location Kern County lies in the lower end of the San 
Joaquin Valley, the Coast Range rising to the west, the 
Tehachapi Mountains to the south, while to the eastward it 
extends over the extreme southerly end of the Sierra Nevadas 
into the Mojave Desert. 

In the northeastern part at Randsburg is one of Cali- 
fornia's largest gold mines. On the west, lying along the 
slopes of the Coast Range, are the Sunset, Midway, McKit- 
trick, and Lost Hill oil fields, while in between are many 
small acreages that produce prolific crops of many different 
kinds. 

Apricots, peaches, pears, prunes, olives, figs, and oranges 
each year are grown and hauled to packing house or shipping 
point, while rice, various grain crops, forage crops, and cotton 
supply a road tonnage that grows with each year. In addi- 
tion to this tonnage the heavy hauling incident to the 
development of the oil fields has imposed an extraordinary 
burden upon Kern County's roads, and if this county had 
not awakened to its road needs early in 19 13, it is difficult to 

[150] 




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Kern County 

estimate what the result would have been in so far as general 
county development is concerned. 

In the year named, Kern County made its start toward 
road development, being the sixth county in the state to vote 
bonds, the amount of the bond issue being $2,500,000, the 
total extent involved being three hundred and sixteen miles, 
of which 85.5 miles was planned for grading, leaving a paved 
road plan of 230.7 miles. 

As will be seen from the accompanying map, these roads 
practically covered the entire county in plan and in the main 
they have been built, the fact that the entire system as 
planned has not been completed being due to those abnormal 
cost increases incident to war conditions which the Kern 
County good-roads enthusiasts could not possibly foresee 
when, in 1913, they voted upon a splendid system of high- 
ways for their county. 

In 1 9 13, good-roads campaigning was vastly different 
from present days when the economic value of the good 
road is so thoroughly established and so widely known as to 
make a good-roads bond issue merely a matter of adjusting 
county finances to the general county good-roads needs; and 
Kern County in the vernacular of that particular brand of 
Missourian which inhabits the remote places of the Ozarks, 
was forced to put up "a right smart fight." 

In preparing for this battle the Kern County Board of 
Supervisors — H. A. Jastro, chairman; J. O. Hart, J. M. 
Bush, L. F. Brite, and Charles F. Bennett — appointed a 
Highway Commission made up of J. L. Evans, C. E. Getchel, 
and Allen J. Woody, the engineer being C. R. Sumner; and 
these men after surveying thoroughly the vastness of Kern 
County, for Kern County is just about the size of many 
respectably large Eastern states, developed the plan outlined 
in the accompanying map, submitted their report to the 
Board of Supervisors, who approved it and set the date for 
the bond issue, whereupon the good-roads forces assembled 
and a campaign army set forth upon its travels, actively 
interesting themselves being the following men: John L. 
Gill, W. E. Drury, T. W. McManus, Tom Burke, H. G. 

[151] 



KINGS 



COUNTY 



TbVisafia, Fresno TULA RE 
Sanfrancisco .*• 

\ ToPbrtetriite 




State Highway 
Count/ Highwa/ 
County Roads 



HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE 

CO UNTY 
K E°R N 

CALIFORNIA 

SCALE 



To 

MIUES 

UNDER BOND ISSUE 

1913 



^*>& ^KX h*T7U0. 
^ s»#* -^ (JecoyaM, 



VENTURA COUNTY 



As may be seen on this map Bakersfield forms the hub for several radiating State Highway 
routes. That reaching Mojave and extending into San Bernardino County is partly paved by 
the county and will be completed by the state. That portion of the Cholame Lateral adjacent to 
Baker sfield has been paved by the county and is as yet merely a state survey. The same is true 
of the Cuyama Lateral south from Maricopa. 




7blfs AngeJes ; 

LOS AN&ZLES COUNTY Mop ^ W , shed by j 

courtesy of Auto Club of So. Co.! 



The north and south State Highway route shown in eastern part of county is oftentimes 
designated as El Camino Sierra and is completed only in small portion while that proposed 
route tapping it at Freeman is in part completed by the county and forms a construction project 
of the state climbing over Walker Pass at the lower end of the Sierras. 



California Highways 

Parsons, Captain Lucien Beer, J. W. Hicks, Lawrence Weill, 
Frank W. Cameron, C. A. Barlow, Fred H. Hall, Jo. P. 
Carroll, Adolph Jacobs, G. D. Willaman, and J. L. Swett. 

The bond issue went across with a big majority, and road 
building started, war-time happenings preventing the 
carrying out in completion of the proposed plan, but none 
the less Kern County got a good start toward a comprehen- 
sive road system, such a good start that the Board of Super- 
visors of 1919, made up of H. I. Tupman, Stanley Abel, J. B. 
McFarland, J. I. Wagy, and H. C. Rambo, is extending the 
system as best it can out of current road funds, and is plan- 
ning another bond issue not only to complete the originally 
planned system, but also to add some new roads made neces- 
sary by county development, and in their aspirations they 
have the co-operation of the Kern County Chamber of Com- 
merce. 

This organization, under the leadership of H. J. Brandt, of 
Bakersfield, its president, is concerning itself actively with all 
affairs that look toward the development of Kern County's 
many resources, C. A. Stiles, A. H. Swain and Ralph Agey 
being vice-presidents, while C. F. Johnson is secretary. With 
these men is an active Board of Directors, made up of E. W. 
Davies, E. E. Teagle, James A. Pauley, L. J. Kanstein, J. W. 
Wiley, O. S. Grant, Wallace Morgan, H. Morgan, J. W. 
McClimonds, C. A. Barlow, W. W. Kelly, Jos. Redlick, and 
C. W. Newberry, and the biggest undertaking which they 
are planning is the development of the existing Kern County 
road system into one of the most comprehensive county 
highway plans in the state, as well as the maintenance of the 
present roads which are subjected to extraordinary use. 

In so far as the State Highway is concerned, Kern County 
is practically divided by the main San Joaquin Valley line 
which extends north and south, while from Famoso north of 
Bakersfield to the west the Cholame Pass lateral reaches 
into San Luis Obispo County connecting with the Coast 
Highway at Paso Robles. From Bakersfield west to the 
coast road at Santa Maria is the Cuyuma lateral, planned 
under the 191 9 State Highway bond issue, these two roads 

[154] 










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Kern County 

forming much needed cross-country lines between valley and 
coast. 

From Bakersfield to the north and east a new State High- 
way road is planned over Walker Pass, connecting with the 
East-of-the-Sierras Highway, which extends north and 
south through the eastern portion of the county, a new State 
Highway from Mojave' on this road reaching over to the 
county line toward Bars tow. 

With these roads to be supplied by the state the future of 
Kern County, as it relates to highway development, is of 
wonderful interest, for not only are its commercial needs to be 
cared for, but also a great flood of tourist travel will center 
here, since in the eastern and northeastern portion of the 
county are some of the most wonderful scenic regions in the 
state, taking in the lower stretches of the Sierras, where 
many trout streams are to be found, the wonderful scenic 
section of the Kern River canyon, a region comparable 
favorably to the Yosemite in grandeur, while the General 
Grant National Park, lying at the county's border, is a 
region destined to be vastly better known. 

In supplementing the state roads now under plan, Kern 
County has built mile upon mile of highway which will 
eventually become a part of the state system, and thus, while 
doing what work was needed for its own development, has 
taken a creditable part in California's endeavor to build the 
most comprehensive road system of any state in the Union. 

In so far as type is concerned Kern County's Highways 
are of concrete, in the main 15 feet in width and generally 
follow State Highway Specifications, the plan being to leave 
them unsurfaced until such time as wear and tear makes a 
covering necessary. 



[155] 



CHAPTER XXIV 

KINGS COUNTY 

Phis little California county was one of the pioneer good- 
A roads counties of the lower San Joaquin Valley, following 
in the steps of Kern County, and voted a #67 2,000 highway 
bond issue in 1915, building thereunder promptly and effici- 
ently an asphaltic concrete highway system which, with cer- 
tain funds supplied by direct tax and out of the annual road 
moneys of the county, approximated in total cost the sum of 
?8oo,ooo and in extent about one hundred miles. 

In topography Kings County is practically level in its 
entire area, and the roads built were planned to serve a com- 
mercial need, this county being one of the few where com- 
paratively no money was required to be spent in purelv 
touring roads. 

In so far as the agricultural aspect of Kings County is 
concerned reference may be had to a late report of the Cali- 
fornia State Board of Agriculture, which says : " In the very 
heart of the great fertile valley of the San Joaquin lies Kings 
County, one of the smallest, one of the youngest, but one of 
the most fertile counties in the state. In the northern part of 
the county raisin grapes, peaches, apricots, and prunes thrive 
best. I he bulk of these crops is dried or canned, the product 
being handled by conveniently located canneries and packing 
houses. These fruits alone net the growers well into the 
millions of dollars annually. 

"Alfalfa growing, hogs, and dairying in Kings County 
make a combination which is hard to beat, as the county is 
recognized by the agricultural world as the home of pure- 
bred live stock. Creameries and cheese factories are so 
located as to be convenient to all dairying sections. On the 

[156] 




One of the smooth paved roads of Kings County. 



Kings County 

shores of Tulare Lake a vast empire has been reclaimed and 
thousands of acres are farmed to wheat and barley by the 
use of modern machinery. 

"Grain sorghums, sugar beets, honey, and many other 
products of the soil contribute to the wealth of this little San 
Joaquin Valley County, no inconsiderable part of the crop 
being cotton, of which in 191 8 about twelve hundred acres 
of Egyptian long staple was picked. Most of the water for 
irrigation comes from Kings River, although the waters of 
Kaweah River have been utilized freely. 

"No slight contribution to the ease and low cost of mar- 
keting farm products is the fine new highway system, which 
connects all the agricultural communities of the county." 

Like the little boy who saves some choice morsel to the 
last, this report of the California State Board of Agriculture 
concludes its article on Kings County with a bit of commen- 
dation for its roads, and there is scarcely any doubt but that 
the rapid development achieved by Kings County in the last 
few years is due to the fine highway system which was bonded 
for in 1 91 5 and which has enabled the farmers to market 
their crops with minimum expense. 

In so far as the State Highway system is concerned in its 
relation to Kings County the San Joaquin Valley trunk line 
merely grazes the northeastern portion of the county, the 
lateral to Hanford, the county seat, leaving the main trunk 
line a little to the south of Goshen, in Tulare County, and 
serving to connect the Kings County highway system with 
the great system of state roads. 

Connecting with this lateral, however, what is known as 
the Coalinga lateral of the State Highway ties up San 
Joaquin Valley points with the main coast route of the State 
Highway at San Lucas, in Monterey County, supplying a 
cross-country highway which will undoubtedly bear a heavy 
volume of traffic. So it it may be said that while Kings 
County is not directly touched by the main San Joaquin 
Valley line it will benefit very greatly through the completion 
of the Coalinga lateral, long delayed for lack of funds, which, 
under the 19 19 State Highway bond issue, is assured. 

[157] 



HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE. 

COU NTY 

K I NGS 

CALIFORNIA 

SCALE 

1 I 




Kings County has had very little help from the State Highway , only that stretch between 
Hanford and the Tulare County line being completed. 



To V/sa/iO - Son ffonctsco an</ 

HAN FORD ' los ^ /7 9 e/es v'<* sfofe M&hwoy 




CORAM 



[159] 



1 



\ 1 



COUNTY 



LEGEND 

State Highway 
County Highway 
County Roads 



From Hanford west to the Fresno County line the State Highway shown is the Coalinga 
lateral which supplies a short cut between Valley and Coast. 



California Highways 

This lateral opens up to the residents of the central San 
Joaquin Valley a direct way to the Monterey coast and in 
conjunction with the splendid road system of Tulare County 
supplies a direct line from the coast route to the wonders of 
Sequoia Park, which will undoubtedly measure up to the 
benefit of Hanford and Tulare County generally, for a flood 
of tourist traffic is undeniably destined to flow over this road. 

In so far as the extent of the Kings County highway plan 
is concerned the system built under the 191 5 bond issue, 
which was supplemented by other funds, covered 103.79 
miles, the cost per mile being $8,080, the roads being fifteen 
feet wide and four inches thick ; and in preparing for the bond 
issue the Kings County Board of Supervisors, made up at 
that time of A. F. Smith, J. O. Mclntyre, E. R. Montgomery, 
Frank Blakeley, and J. M. McClellan, chairman, appointed a 
county highway commission composed of C. C. Spinks, 
chairman ; R. A. Moore, and F. M. Frazer, the latter serving 
as secretary; their executive officer being Benn Duffield, the 
county surveyor, who attended to the practical details of the 
work. 

The plan developed by these men was comprehensive, 
covering the county from center of population to center of 
population and connecting all with the State Highway by the 
lateral reaching Hanford, the county seat, the principal 
towns of the county, Lemoore, Armona, Grangeville, Cor- 
coran, Hardwick, and Stratford all being directly connected 
with Hanford by the system finally decided upon. 

In 19 1 5, when the Kings County good-roads bond issue 
was voted, the fight for good roads was much more of a battle 
than in the year 1919, and the campaign made in this county 
in plan was one of the best ever advanced in the state, the 
Kings County Chamber of Commerce, with W. Bernstein, 
president; B. B. Price, secretary; and a board of directors 
made up of Frank Johnson, A. G. Robinson, R. A. Moore, 
J. W. Guiberson, and Joe D. Biddle, devoting its entire 
strength to campaigning for good roads, as did the Hanford 
Merchants' Association, of which G. W. Kelly was president, 
E. F. Newton, secretary, and Arthur E. Horlock, David 

[160] 




Looking into Kings County from the Fresno County line. 




On a Kings County highway near Hanford. 




















ill 






Kings County 

Murry, and A. J. Young, directors. Helping them was the 
entire Board of Supervisors, reinforced by the chairman of 
the Highway Commission, who is one of the most enthusi- 
astic good-roads advocates in California today, and the vote 
resultant from the campaign made by these men recorded the 
fact that a tremendous majority of Kings County people 
wanted good roads. 

In type the roads laid down were of asphaltic concrete of 
what is known as Topeka specification, composed of crushed 
rock or gravel and sand of different grades bound together 
with asphalt, much care being given to the subgrade and 
drainage, and a generally careful job was done by the High- 
way Commission. 

In point of time Kings County also established a high 
standard in the building of its highways and set a mark for 
speedy construction which it is painful almost to contem- 
plate in view of the difficulties existent in 1 919 in relation to 
highway construction, so that the saying, "Kings County 
has good roads," which came into common use throughout 
that portion of the San Joaquin Valley, was justly earned. 

In so far as maintenance is concerned the present Kings 
County Board of Supervisors, made up of A. F. Smith, A. H. 
Johnson, E. R. Montgomery, John W. Russell, and M. C. 
Carter, working through County Surveyor Roy May, is 
doing its part to keep the roads built under the 191 5 bond 
issue in good condition and while they do not contend that 
their roads which cost but $8,000.00 per mile are equal, in 
point of permanency, to concrete highways costing vastly 
more, none the less are they proud of their highway system 
and are doing excellent work in keeping it in shape. 



[161] 



CHAPTER XXV 

LOS ANGELES COUNTY 

Twenty-one years ago Los Angeles County began that 
road improvement which has become such a marked 
phase of its development, for in 1898 three hundred eighty- 
three miles of road were treated with oil, the oiling of earth 
roads at that time being regarded as about the last word in 
road improvement. 

Since that time road building in this county has reached a 
development little short of marvelous, and in the latter part 
of 1919 601.50 miles of well paved highway built to carry 
commercial traffic exist in Los Angeles County, while three 
thousand, three hundred fifty miles of oiled dirt roads, in- 
tended in the main to serve light touring traffic, have been 
developed and are being maintained. 

In addition to these county roads the city of Los Angeles, 
comprising in its area 363.44 square miles, has 511.86 miles 
of paved streets and 724.43 miles of streets graded and oiled, 
many of these oiled streets being nothing more nor less than 
country roads twenty miles away from the business district, 
for so wide-spread in dimension is this amazing California 
city as to comprehend within its limits those road problems 
which are peculiar to county rather than city government. 

Eliminating the paved streets as properly to be credited to 
city rather than county accomplishment, it may be said that 
the oiled streets, while not legally a part of the county road 
system, may well be considered as part thereof, giving an 
oiled-road mileage of 4074.43 and a total improved road 
mileage, taking in six hundred miles of paved roads, of 
4674.43, which is little short of amazing. 

In securing this great highway development Los Angeles 

[162] 




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Newhall Tunnel. 












Top an go Canyon road. 



Cahuenga Pas* 



Los Angeles County 

County voted a road bond issue of $3,500,000 in 1909, being 
the second county in the state to undertake such an enter- 
prise and put down, under that bond issue, three hundred 
seven miles of oil-bound macadam roads, the concrete road 
at that time being an unknown quantity in California, these 
oil macadam roads being twenty feet wide in the main and 
five inches thick. 

Of the present system of paved roads five hundred twenty- 
three miles are of the type just mentioned, while seventy- 
eight and one-half miles are of the best type of concrete con- 
struction, twenty feet wide and five inches thick, surfaced 
with asphaltic oil and screenings to take up the wear and 
tear of heavy travel, the present tendency being to construct 
concrete highways wherever heavy traffic exists, a highway 
now contemplated for improvement by the Los Angeles 
County Board of Supervisors, the Harbor Truck Boulevard, 
extending from the commercial center of Los Angeles to the 
harbor at San Pedro, setting a new standard for heavy-duty 
roads. 

This highway, intended to carry an enormous tonnage, if 
expressed plans are carried out, to be forty feet wide, of a 
thickness of eight inches of concrete laid upon a well-rolled 
and compacted subgrade of disintegrated granite from six to 
eight inches thick, and covers a distance, outside of the city 
limits of Los Angeles and Vernon, of 13.32 miles. Inside the 
city limits of the places named about seven miles of pave- 
ment already exists, not of the type planned it is true, but 
none the less paved and required to be maintained no matter 
how huge the volume of traffic may become. 

Other roads which, although serving a commercial traffic 
to some extent, bear that tremendous flood of automobile 
tourist traffic which centers around Los Angeles, are the 
Long Beach Boulevard and the Pico Boulevard, which 
reaches from the heart of the city of Los Angeles to Venice, 
Santa Monica, Ocean Park, and other beach resorts. Of 
the oil-bound macadam roads, intended in the main for 
pleasurable touring traffic, the Topango Canyon road per- 
haps stands foremost in scenic attraction, supplying as it 

[163] 



[i6 4 ] 



Los Angeles County has the 
greatest paved road mileage of 
any County in California and 
is constantly adding to it. 




HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE 

COUNTV 

LOS ANGELES 



CO U N 7 Y 



[165] 




More lines of the State High- 
way center in Los Angeles 
County than in any other 
County. 



California Highways 

does a link in a short tour originating in Los Angeles and 
thence, by way of Venice, Santa Monica, and Oceanside, 
leading up the coast past medieval-looking moving-picture 
establishments to where a rugged gash in the mountains 
opens Topango Canyon to the sea. 

The Cahuenga Pass road also is attractive, although in 
different and less degree, and is much traveled both by 
pleasure and commercial traffic, as it supplies access to Los 
Angeles for the converged travel of both coast and valley 
routes of the State Highway. 

In discussing the road-building accomplishments of a 
county such as Los Angeles in an article so limited in length 
as the present one only extraordinary undertakings are sus- 
ceptible of mention, and of these perhaps the construction of 
the Newhall Tunnel is the most interesting. This tunnel, 
built by Los Angeles County, was presented to the State 
Highway, and through it pours that ever-increasing flood of 
travel which comes from the Sacramento and San Joaquin 
valleys by way of the Tejon-Castaic Ridge State Highway 
route. Before the building of this tunnel and in the days 
when there was no State Highway Ridge route access into 
Southern California was had by way of Fremont Pass, a 
sheer cut eighty feet deep through conglomerate rock with 
grades of twenty-nine per cent, so narrow that only one 
vehicle could pass through at a time and so steep-sided that 
now and then a boulder dropped from the wall upon some 
unfortunate traveler. Access to Fremont Pass was had from 
the north by way of Antelope Valley and Boquet Canyon, 
and the pass takes its name because of the popular declara- 
tion that General John C. Fremont in his journeyings about 
California was responsible for its origin. 

In * considering the road development in Los Angeles 
County it is only fair to say that the Automobile Club of 
Southern California has taken an outstanding part and in 
1909, seizing upon the opportunity afforded by the adoption 
of a county charter, designated a committee to get the best 
road-building engineer who could be procured. This indi- 
vidual proved to be F. H. Joyner, at that time peaceably 

[166] 




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building roads in Massachusetts; and for ten years Mr. 
Joyner served faithfully and well, retiring to private life in 
the early summer of 1919, leaving behind him a host of 
friends and many creditable accomplishments. 

Succeeding Mr. Joyner his principal assistant, George W. 
Jones, was named by the Board of Supervisors as County 
Road Commissioner, and this thoroughly competent road 
builder is now engaged in that further road development 
which is planned by the Board of Supervisors. This body, 
made up in 1919 of Jonathan S. Dodge, chairman; P. F. 
Cogswell, formerly State Senator; Jack Bean; F. E. Wood- 
ley; and R. F. McClellan, not only has taken part in past 
accomplishment but also is actively engaging itself for the 
future; and the activity of these men is largely responsible 
for the fact that under the 191 9 State Highway bond issue 
the Lancaster-to-Bailey's road was taken over by the state, 
as well as the Oxnard-to-San Juan Capistrano road, the San 
Gabriel Canyon road and the Arroyo Seco road back of 
Mount Wilson — the taking over of these roads by the state 
alleviating the white man's burdens resting upon Los Angeles 
County in so far as roads are concerned to no inconsiderable 
extent. 

In furtherance of its road-building undertakings Los 
Angeles County, maintaining a county forester, has ad- 
vanced far in highway tree planting and beautification, while 
from a bridge standpoint it has developed some splendid 
structures, the Colorado Street bridge over the Arroyo Seco 
in Pasadena being easily first in magnitude, while over the 
same arroyo some distance below is the California Street 
bridge, a splendid span of reinforced concrete arches. In 
the same general location is the concrete-arch bridge over 
a tributary of the Arroyo Seco at Devil's Gate, a single 
span of sixty-four feet over a deep and rocky gorge, while 
over the San Gabriel River east of El Monte is a long plate- 
girder bridge with reinforced concrete floor, the general 
bridge scheme of the county matching well up with what 
in all probability is California's most highly developed 
county system of roads. 

[167] 



CHAPTER XXVI 

MARIN COUNTY 

■jy/fARjN County, situated so close to San Francisco as to 
-L ▼ 1- be practically a suburb, spreads over the entire area of a 
peninsula which might aptly be designated as the north 
buttress of the Golden Gate. 

In topography it is mostly rugged with no coastal plain, 
the mountains dropping steeply down to the ocean on the 
west, San Francisco Bay on the east, while on the south, 
above the narrow channel through which the waters of the 
Pacific flow into and ebb from one of the world's great land- 
locked harbors a bluff promontory, housing Government 
fortifications, rises like some Gibraltar of the Pacific. 

In climate and scenic attraction Marin County is alluring 
and many San Franciscans have made their homes there, 
the population of the County being of a residential character 
rather than commercial or agricultural, if such a term can 
be properly applied. 

In so far as its road problems are concerned Marin County 
has been struggling along like many other California 
counties, earnestly endeavoring to provide for automobile 
traffic under ox-cart laws, the various boards of supervisors 
doing the best they could to still the wails of their fellow 
citizens who seemed to forget that highway construction 
demands money as the first requirement. 

Finally turning to the United States Bureau of Public 
Roads, as so many other California counties have done with 
satisfactory and tangible results, the Marin County Board 
of Supervisors, made up of Casper J. Gardner, Mill Valley, 
chairman; M. Burke, San Rafael; William Barr, San Rafael; 
David Steele, Marshall; and F. W. Sweetser, Novato, 

[168] 




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Si 

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Marin County 



called for an engineer to advise them and in July, 1919, 
Senior Highway Engineer D. E. Henry made an investiga- 
tion and report. 

In this report Engineer Henry says: The county road 
system was gone over with each supervisor in his respective 
district and the following features were taken into considera- 
tion: topography, soil, alignment, grades, drainage and 
maintenance. Considerable attention was given to the 
economic development, present and future, the adequacy 
of the present road system and future demands." 

With this preliminary statement he then goes on to say: 
"In planning a system of road improvement for Mann 
County there are several features which should be considered 
fully. The close proximity to San Francisco, together with 
the many desirable residence sections throughout the county, 
make it attractive to suburban residents. Mount Tamalpais 
and Muir Woods are vast play grounds and are visited by 
practically every tourist coming to California; all of which 
contributes to the wealth of the county which is further 
supplemented by vast dairying interests." 

As the result of his investigation Mr. Henry filed with the 
Bureau of Public Roads his report recommending for the 
main trunk lines of travel where traffic converges from roads 
of "second and third importance" what he designates as 
"Class A" construction, a concrete surface five inches in 
thickness and sixteen feet in width, supplementing this 
recommendation by suggesting oil macadam and gravel 
surfacing for those traffic arteries which carry a burden so 
light as to render the more expensive concrete pavement 
inadvisable. yy 

"The present layout of the County roads, he declares, 
"appears to cover the county very thoroughly. However, 
one feature is noticeable in that for the northwestern section 
of the county no connecting road has been provided, leading 
directly to the eastern part of the county and the county 
seat, the only egress being via Petaluma, in Sonoma County, 
a condition which should be remedied. 

Upon reference to the accompanying map, which is that 

[169] 



[170] 




SKETCH MAP 



PROPOSED HIGHWAY SYSTEM * 



>$> 



MARIN 0OUNTY 

CALIFORNIA 

SCALE; llw.V2.10 Mi. (Appro*.) 

JULY 1318 

(to AccoMMtar Br*©" or D CHewr, Schim rtisiuMv C*cn. BuotAu.er Pysue Ro*o») 



^ 



LEGEND 

t & Importance ■■■■■■■■ ^2.^ import. 

■Sfafo Highway G®n9ai$e 

County Highways Payed 



•3 C* /mperfancc 



Marin County, in the early part of 1920, plans a County -wide bond issue 
on the plan mapped out. 




[i7i] 



Building by direct tax or one or the other of the various district plans 
Marin County has already made a creditable start in highway building. 



California Highways 

supplied by Mr. Henry with his report, it will be seen that 
this condition has been corrected by a proposed new county 
highway link from Chileno Valley Inn to Union School 
which will permit traffic originating in the section of the 
county named to reach San Rafael, the county seat, without 
unnecessary delay — not to mention passing through an 
adjoining county by a long and round-about trip. 

In so far as road development already achieved in Marin 
County is concerned it may be said that under one or the 
other of the various road district or boulevard plans 54 
miles of paved highways have been built tributary to the 
various towns, Ross leading in highway development with 
20 miles of pavement. In the vicinity of Mill Valley 7 miles 
have been paved while around Corte Madera 6 miles of 
highways have been built. San Rafael has paved 5 miles, 
Sausalito 5 miles, Manor and Belvedere 4 miles, with Lark- 
spur contributing 3 miles as its share. Other plans involving 
about 30 miles of pavement are under way, while a bond 
issue for a county-wide system following upon the lines laid 
out in the Henry report is planned for early in 1920. 

So much for the actual road building situation in Marin 
County; and dismissing this from consideration it is pleasant 
to turn for consideration to the reasons why Marin County is 
now planning to engage in highway construction upon a 
more elaborate scale. 

As Engineer Henry says, it is a highly desirable residential 
location ; and for proof of his statement it is only necessary 
to look at the slopes of Tamalpais and the foothills which 
drop down therefrom. On every side are homes, tiny 
bungalows dwelt in by writers or artists or nature lovers, or 
the pretentious mansions and well kept grounds of the 
wealthy, the comparative freedom from fog, the number of 
days of warm sun and the matchless view afforded by this 
or that perch upon hill or mountain side serving to attract 
many all-year residents. 

Other folks also have built homes upon the hillside, living 
in the country in the summer, and going back to the busy 
hive across the Golden Gate in winter when the rains are on, 

[172] 










<8 







Drive along shore of Bolinas Bay built by board of 
supervisors 







A birdseye view of Bolinas Bay and shore line drive. 



Marin County 

living in hotels or apartments until such time as they can go 
back to the country life. The fact that ferry service, in so 
far as automobile transportation is concerned, has been 
utterly inadequate has kept many people who would like 
to live in Marin County away, this condition now being in 
process of correction with at least two new automobile 
ferries under plan, not to mention a vast dream which plans 
for a far-flung bridge. 

In so far as present conditions are concerned the Marin 
County Board of Supervisors is doing the best it can eternally 
patching up the different roads, putting in permanent 
bridges and culverts as a start toward better things, building 
the grade for a new road now and planning for what 
eventually is to become one of California's most famous 
touring roads. This plan involves the construction of a 
touring road along the saddle of Mount Tamalpais to the 
highest peak, connecting with the Fairfax-Bolinas Bay 
road at the top of the grade to the west of Alpine. In parts 
already existent as a woods road, over-grown with under- 
brush perhaps, the proposed touring drive will thread along 
the very backbone of the ridge with a view that covers all 
the four points of the compass — bay on one side, with the 
Berkeley Hills beyond and to the east, the Golden Gate and 
San Francisco to the south, the Pacific to the west with the 
pin point Farallones in the distance, and to the north the 
bluff and foam washed shore, along which a highway is 
planned that will some day, connecting with the coast roads 
of Sonoma and Mendocino County, form part of a shore line 
highway from San Francisco to Oregon. 



[*73] 



CHAPTER XXVII 

MERCED COUNTY 



TyjERCED County has the honor of being the only Cali- 
J_ A forma county to pass a good roads bond issue during 
die participation of the United States in the war, votinf 
?i,2 5 o,ooo for a concrete county highway system on Novem- 

u-J' I9 J- ' * * cam P ai S n "nique in California road- 
building history, owmg to its attendant difficulties, local 
ordinances requiring the wearing of influenza masks during 
the entire period of the campaign, which may aptly be 
designated as the only road campaign in history conducted 
by an aggregation of boosters so muzzled as to be almost 
unable to talk. 

Public meetings, because of the existence of the influenza 
epidemic, were impossible, only one being attempted, this 
one being to all intents and purposes a failure though 
taking place ,n the open air, extensively advertised, and 
suppymg the first moving picture show offered to the 
people of the county in more than two weeks. This meetine 
was centralized around Charlie Chaplin, whose filmed 
antics for once fafled to draw, the speaker of the evening 
being Charles F. Stern, at the time a member of the State 
Highway Commission, and one of the most eloquent advo- 
cates of highway improvement in the state. 

Not disheartened in the least, the Merced County Good 
Koads Association, under the active direction of John R 
Graham of Merced, its organizer and president, installed a 
battery of telephones in its headquarters, called up every 
home in the telephone directory, wrote letters to every 
voter, commandeered every newspaper in the county, the 
Merced Evening Sun, the only daily paper, getting out a 

[ 174 1 




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Merced County 

special good roads edition on Saturday, November 2d, 
every display advertisement in it, donated to the cause of 
good roads as the result of untiring work done by Mr. Frank 
R. Barcroft, one of Mr. Graham's helpers and a prominent 
Merced business man, having this laconic statement, "We 
Want Good Roads," with the name of the owner of the space 
beneath, and when the ballots were counted one hundred 
fifty-eight votes more than the required two-thirds majority 
gave Merced County good roads. 

The system planned involved 125.7 miles, of which 107.5 
was part of the county road system proper, the remainder, 
18.2 miles, being provided as part of the Pacheco Pass State 
Highway lateral under the 19 19 State Highway bond issue, 
being taken over entirely by the State but originally planned 
as a co-operative undertaking by county and state, and 
connecting the San Joaquin Valley State Highway with the 
Coast Highway, also supplying a link in a road plan ad- 
vocated for years as "The Yosemite-to-the-Sea" highway. 

The type of road provided for under the bond issue is 
concrete, not less than sixteen feet wide and five inches thick, 
and the system, in process of construction in 1919, is being 
built by the Merced County Board of Supervisors, made up 
of T. H. Scandrett, Merced, chairman; D. K. Thornton, 
Le Grand; Frank Pebley, Atwater; G. H. Whitworth, New- 
man; and C. S. Cothran, Los Banos; the engineer in charge 
being Arthur E. Cowell, County Surveyor, under whose 
advice and with whose co-operation the road system was 
laid out; an advisory board appointed by the supervisors 
and made up of five men, one from each supervisorial district, 
participating also. This advisory body is as follows: John 
R. Graham, Merced, chairman;* W. E. Bunker, Gustine; 
Bert Hoyle, Dos Palos; E. L. Morley, Le Grand; W. T. 
White, Livingston. 

Paralleling the State Highway main line in part on the 
west side of the county one of the highways provided 
reaches from South Dos Palos on the Fresno County line 
to the Stanislaus County line within a mile of Newman, 
connecting with a Stanislaus County highway, which, with 

[175] 



TO FRESNO, MODES TO 
+SAN TRANC/SCO 



^^VAN. TRACY 
*SAN FRANC/SCO 





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From Dos Palos to the Stanislaus County line north of Gustine the high- 
way under construction in 1920 forms part of the West Side Highway from 
Fresno to San Francisco. 




[i77] 



TO FRESNO, BAKERSF/ELD 
* LOS ANGELES 

■tocLfa highway map 

OF THE 

COUNTY 
MERCED 

CALIFORNIA 

SCALE 



5 
MILES 



LEGEN D 

State Highway 
County Highway 
County Roads 



The State Highway from Calif a to the west is the Pacheco Pass Lateral. 
The State Highway from Merced to the eastward is the main entrance into 
the Yosemite and carries touring travel from all over the world. 



California Highways 

the exception of a few miles, is paved to the San Joaquin 
County line, where a paved highway supplies a direct route 
to Tracy and thence to San Francisco bay points, or by way 
of Stockton into the Sacramento valley and on to Oregon. 

South from South Dos Palos, a Fresno County road, 
planned for permanent concrete construction, supplies a 
direct line to Fresno, where it connects with the State High- 
way, the various links supplied by the county highway 
systems forming a long-dreamed-of short cut, popularly 
designated as the "West Side Highway," so called from the 
fact that both in Stanislaus and Merced Counties the 
districts traversed are known as "The West Side," each 
being for years a sort of a good roads' Cinderella, neglected 
and almost forgotten, each helping to pay the county's cost 
of the State Highway, which, separated by adobe roads 
from the west side, in rainy weather might just as well have 
been laid out on the moon. 

The Pacheco Pass road of the State Highway connects 
with this road at Los Banos and forms, as has been set forth 
above, a link in the Yosemite-to-the-Sea Highway, supplying 
tourists with an alternative route into Santa Clara County 
points, the beach resorts of Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San 
Mateo Counties, connecting coast and valley lines of the 
State Highway, and originally planned to be paid for on a 
co-operative basis, but now, under the 19 19 additional 
State Highway bond issue, entirely to be constructed by the 
state. 

That part of the road system, reaching from Livingston 
to Gustine and forming a cross-county tie-up near to the 
northern boundary line, traverses one of the richest sections 
of the county where seven hundred sacks of beans produced 
in 1 91 6 pioneered the way for a bean production in 191 7 of 
70,000 sacks, the costs incident to hauling this tonnage over 
roads almost hub deep, the soil being a sandy loam in 
character, being so heavy as to cut the producers' profit 
materially. 

From Irwin north it will be seen that a road is planned, 
ending at the Stanislaus County line, where it connects with 

[178] 



Merced County 

a concrete highway, part of the Stanislaus County system 
leading to Turlock.' This paved road, supplying a way out 
which involved a minimum bad roads' haul for the residents 
of Merced County in the vicinity of Irwin and Hilmar, 
attracted much business originating there to Turlock, and 
the striking example of a paved concrete road cut abruptly 
off and abutting against a sad mess of chucks and ruts and 
bottomless sand, supplied a campaign picture which did its 
work in getting good roads for Merced County. 

The road planned north from Merced through Amsterdam 
to Snelling and thence east to Merced Falls passes through 
the oldest section of the county in point of settlement, 
Snelling being the first county seat, and some of the old 
buildings still standing evidence the days of 49 when "Fort 
Snelling" was an entryway into the land where Argonauts 
from all parts of the world flocked in search of gold. 

At Merced Falls, situated on the Merced River, which 
flowing down from the Yosemite is used in lumbering, is a 
huge mill where millions of feet of lumber are sawed each 
year, hundreds of men being employed, and the establish- 
ment of a road to this point opened up to the merchants of 
Merced a new volume of business, which before, on account 
of difficulty of access, amounted to very little, while to the 
residents of Merced Falls easy access was provided to the 
diversions of modern life, the distance being practically 
nothing in this day of the automobile when supplemented 
by the modern type of paved highway. 

Each year, into Merced County, a tremendous volume of 
tourist travel comes, bound for Yosemite Valley points, 
while to supplement this road traffic a huge road tonnage of 
soil products, constantly increasing as the land and water 
are brought together, supplies that commercial need which 
alone is justification for the building of paved roads, and, 
with the present system provided for, the Board of Super- 
visors and other progressive citizens are planning yearly 
extensions, a few miles at a time, until in the end the 
ranchers of all districts will have economical roads to haul 
over and be freed from heavy hauling costs. 

[179] 



CHAPTER XXVIII 

MONTEREY COUNTY 

This county, situated about one hundred miles south of 
San Francisco Bay and something like three hundred 
miles north from Los Angeles, comprehends road problems 
of no ordinary degree from the fact that it is situated on the 
coast and is largely mountainous in character with abrupt 
bluffs along the ocean shore which rise hundreds of feet 
above the surf. 

One hundred and twenty-four miles long from north to 
south and forty-four miles wide, it is divided into three sec- 
tions which may be described as mountains and hills on the 
east, mountains and hills on the west and between these 
ranges the Salinas valley, approximately one hundred miles 
long with an average width of ten miles. Through the 
Salinas Valley flows the Salinas River with bottom lands of 
rich alluvial soil on either bank and through the valley the 
coast line State Highway supplies a main trunk line which 
bears the principal road tonnage of the county, agricultural 
touring traffic combining to make up an ever-increasing 
road burden. 

To supplement the main trunk line of the State Highway 
with a county road system as well as to provide funds for 
necessary bridge construction, the people of Monterey 
County in 191 5 issued $570,000 in bonds, $370,000 of this 
amount being set aside as the county's share of the cost of 
bridges along the State Highway, the raising of a sum of 
such magnitude to help the California Highway Commission 
in its tremendous work of building a state system of roads 
being fairly indicative of the spirit of the people of Monterey 
County who applied the remaining $200,000 to starting a 

[180] 




One of Monterey County's famous drives, near Carmel. 




Once each year stage coaches and Cowboys travel the roads 
of Monterey. 




Looking south on the Carmel-San Simeon route of the 
State Highway. 



Monterey County 

road system of their own to which they have added each 
year an appreciable mileage until, in 19 19, eighty-one miles 
of paved highway already laid down marks the contribution 
of this county to the good-roads mileage of the state. 

The men responsible for the bond issue above mentioned 
were the members of the 191 5 Board of Supervisors, Messrs. 
J. L. D. Roberts, Monterey; Harvey Abbott, Salinas; Wm. 
Casey, San Lucas; Jefferson Mann, Watson ville; and Paul 
Talbot, King City, who added to the duties imposed upon 
them by law, the additional burden of campaigning for good 
roads, which was considerably more of a job in 1914 and 191 5 
than at the present time and in the accustomed manner of 
the good roads booster they stumped the county back and 
forth, finally securing the approval of the voters of the 
county for their plan. With comparatively little money at 
their disposal (the greater part of the money raised under 
the bond issue being provided to help the state) inexpensive 
roads were necessary and to meet this need the Board of 
Supervisors adopted an oil macadam pavement 5 to 6 inches 
in thickness, varying in width from 12 to 15 feet, road thick- 
ness and width being governed by the road traffic existent 
in the particular locality, construction costs figuring under 
pre-war prices about $5000 per mile, the total length of the 
highways laid down by the bond issue being forty miles, the 
additional forty-one miles of road since built being provided 
for out of the yearly taxes, emphasizing the fact that the 
1 91 9 Monterey County Board of Supervisors, made up of 
Frank P. McFadden, Blanes; George Dudley, San Ardo; 
Robert Sterling, Salinas; Dr. J. L. D. Roberts of Monterey; 
and Paul Talbot of King City, is a unit in believing that it 
is sound policy to build a few miles of the best type of road 
possible each year. 

The individual charged with the actual details of construc- 
tion work in the starting of Monterey County on good roads, 
was Mr. H. F. Cozzens, the county surveyor who used the 
limited funds at his disposal to the best effect, not contending 
for one moment that the type of road supplied equaled in 
quality or permanence the concrete roads put in by other 

[isii 




The Coast Highway shown is one of the routes provided for in the ipip State Highway bond 
issue and in conjunction with the roads of Santa Cruz and San Mateo Counties ', the State High- 
way already built and that planned for construction from Oxnard to San Juan Capistrano will 
supply an all-coast road, San Francisco to San Diego. 



HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE 

COUNTY 
or 

MONTEREY 

CALIFORNIA 



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MONTEREY FOREST 

San Benito Dif 



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Mop data fbrnished by> 


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courtesy of 


H. F Cozzens. 








County Sl 


rveyor 



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With the exception of highway along coast and that reaching inland from San Lucas, both 
forming part of the State Highway Commissions plans, all highways shown on this map of 
Monterey County are paved. 



[i«3] 



California Highways 

and wealthier counties, but endeavoring only to lay down the 
best roads possible with the money at hand and it may be 
said in all fairness that the roads put down have stood the 
test, bearing in some places a volume of traffic for which 
they were never intended and standing up under this traffic 
remarkably well. 

In so far as the road needs of Monterey County are con- 
cerned they are twofold in character, a mass of heavy hauling 
centralizing at Salinas, where one of the largest beet sugar 
factories in the state is located, the total being about 
300,000 tons a year, while tributary to Watson ville, in Santa 
Cruz County on the Monterey County line, another heavy 
volume of traffic exists, made up of apples hauled to the 
various drying and packing houses. In addition to the 
tonnage above mentioned, five thousand acres in the Salinas 
Valley devoted to potato raising contributes each year 
approximately twenty-five thousand tons of road traffic in 
addition to which dairying, berry growing, bean, wheat and 
barley production supply more heavy traffic for the county 
highways. 

As may be seen from the accompanying map the road 
system laid down ties all of the different towns of the county 
together and connects each one of them with the State 
Highway which serves the communities in the southern part 
of the Salinas Valley so satisfactorily that the road needs of 
this section exist in only small degree, owing to the fact that 
the valley toward the San Luis Obispo county line is so 
narrow as to need practically only one road. From south to 
north the State Highway practically divides the county in 
its northern stretch, from Salinas to the San Benito county 
line climbing over the San Juan grade, which it may be said 
in passing, is a totally new road, the old San Juan grade, now 
abandoned to coyotes and jack rabbits, being formerly a 
terror of steep pitches and grades. 

The most important stretches of county road so far laid 
down are those extending from Salinas to Monterey, a dis- 
tance of twenty miles and that from Salinas to Watsonville, 
sixteen miles in length, the sixteen mile stretch of road from 

[184] 




b 




The Monterey Coast south of Carmel showing present 
road. 




United States wagon train on the old San Juan grade. 
The State Highway route over San Juan grade has sup- 
planted this famous old road. 



Monterey County 

Castroville to Monterey being of only slightly less impor- 
tance. Another road that under the 1919 State Highway 
bond issue assumes importance of no mean degree, is that 
running south from Monterey to Carmel, six miles long, 
which will form a part of the proposed Carmel-San Simeon 
State Highway. 

The Monterey-Carmel road already is a famous bit of 
highway, climbing up from Monterey on an ascending grade 
which unfolds as it rises a view of wonderful panoramic 
beauty. To the northward is the sweep of Monterey Bay 
with the white surf line on the shore, while beyond lift the 
Santa Cruz mountains in the distance. In the foreground is 
quaint Monterey suggesting, with its age old adobes, the 
Monterey where California history, it might almost be said, 
was born, for here in 1602 came Viscaino who named Mon- 
terey Bay in honor of Gaspar de Zuniga, Count of Monterey 
and Viceroy of Mexico. Here also Junipero Serra landed, 
his memory being emblazoned on a monument erected by 
Mrs. Jane L. Stanford in the Presidio of Monterey which 
was a Spanish garrison before Mexico took over the territory 
and government and which, since the Spanish-American 
war, has housed varying contingents of American soldiers 
intended for duty in the Philippines or returning therefrom. 

In view of the fact that Monterey County has numbered 
itself among the good roads counties of California, it is 
interesting to know that it is also regarded as one of the 
most famous cattle ranging areas of the state where the 
old time care-free cowboy life of the West exists. Evi- 
dencing this a Rodeo is held each year at Salinas, where 
thousands of automobiles carry tens of thousands of visitors 
to listen to the cowboys' shrill "yip-ee," "Ride 'im, cowboy, 
ride 'im," or "Let 'er buck," and at this time the old West 
and the new West meet upon common ground, for out of the 
past onto smooth paved roads the old-time stage coach with 
its half-broken horses and its whooping cowboys in chaps 
comes galloping; calling back, for a brief season of make- 
believe in the California Rodeo, the old-time frontier when 
any road at all was good enough. 

[185] 



CHAPTER XXIX 

NAPA COUNTY 

For many years Napa County enjoyed the reputation of 
being one of California's most progressive counties in re- 
lation to road development, and was provided with wide and 
smooth, well-graveled or macadamized highways, which 
were well drained, thoroughly sprinkled, and kept in first-class 
shape throughout. 

In arriving at this condition this county achieved the dis- 
tinction of being one of the first of California's counties to 
take advantage of that law which provided for the formation 
of road districts and bonding thereof for better highways, 
the road so improved leading from the city of Napa into 
Brown's Valley, a district highly productive and extraor- 
dinarily attractive from a residential standpoint. 

The man responsible for this improvement was Jasper 
Partrick, now dead, supervisor of the district, who had the 
backing of the people of Brown's Valley, and alongside the 
road that was built by these good-roads enthusiasts of 
more than a decade ago there stands a tablet to testify that 
Napa County then as now believed firmly in good roads. 

With the advent of the motor vehicle, however, road con- 
ditions in Napa County, as in other parts of California, 
changed, and the highways which had stood up well and 
given good service under deliberate horse-drawn traffic 
ground up and blew away under the swift movement, heavy- 
load, and hind-wheel thrust of motor truck or automobile. 

The burden imposed upon the roads of Napa County, it 
may be said, is of twofold character, this region being one of 
the most popular sections of California from a touring stand- 
point as well as highly productive agriculturally, prunes of 

[186] 




"3 



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Napa County 

superior quality, cherries, pears, apples, and other deciduous 
fruits supplying a heavy road tonnage, while grains of various 
kinds produced in quantity serve to add thereto. 

In addition to the products named, for many years the 
wine-grape production of the Napa Valley also supplied an 
extraordinarily heavy road load, hundreds of thousands of 
tons of grapes being hauled to the various wineries where 
they were crushed, this district being one of the most famous 
in the state of California for both the quality and quantity 
of dry wines produced. 

With road burdens such as described, the matter of road 
maintenance became at length a problem, and in 1917 Napa 
County began building concrete roads, the first stretch put 
down being in the lower part of the county on the main high- 
way between Napa and the Solano County line, the man re- 
sponsible for this improvement being Thomas Maxwell, 
supervisor of the district, who raised the necessary funds by 
direct tax, the man in charge of work being County Engineer 
E. P. Ball, the highway built being four miles in length. 

Following the building of this stretch of road a movement 
for the building of a concrete highway throughout the entire 
length of the Napa Valley was initiated, in which the other 
members of the Board of Supervisors — Messrs. S. J. Webber, 
chairman; Yountville; John McCormick, St. Helena; C. H. 
Wassum, Monticello; and Mark Hein, Napa— joined with 
Mr. Maxwell. This movement, it may be said, was at once 
approved by the Napa County Farm Bureau, with Henry 
W 7 heatley, president, the following being directors: W. E. 
Cole, Ed Somers, Anita Lubben, D. A. Dunlap, H. C. 
Melone, A. W. Bill, Charles Sunkler, Jules Volper, H. J. 
Clement, John Redfield, James Pieratt, T. G. Gardner, 
Walter Schaefer, Mrs. L. B. Miller, Franklin Moyer, Dale 
Blockman, George Martin, E. A. Gilson, S. Kelly, Ed Young, 
D. O. Taplin, W. W. Gamble, Thomas Maxwell, Frank 
Gordon, Charles Cantoni, and W. L. Mitchell; while Farm 
Adviser H. J. Baade, Jr., dropped all other work to talk good 
roads. In addition to the farm bureau the Napa County 
Chamber of Commerce, with E. J. Drussel, mayor of the 

[187] 



[188] 



'The road problems of Napa County 
are comparatively simple, the building of 
an eighteen-foot wide concrete road up 
through the center of the Napa Valley 
from Napa to Calistoga being taken care 
of under a bond issue, the extension 
shown from Calistoga to the Sonoma 
County line to be built out of current 
funds or money raised by direct tax. A 
paved road provided for by the Sonoma 
County bond issue will supply an all- 
paved connection between Calistoga and 
Healdsburg. 



HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE 

COU NTY 

OF 

NAPA 

CALIFORNIA 

SCALE 



MILES 



LEGEND 

S+aie Hwy. 
County Hwy. 
County Poads 




TO MlODLlroWN'' 

*fT. ST. HELENA^$$& 

'''K'}%sm Aetna Sprsy 

) 

TO HEALDSBURG L 



TO SANTA ROSA V/A 
RETR/F/EO FOREST 



TO SANTA ROSA V/A SONOMA 
TO SAUSALITO V/A 
BLACK PO/NT CUT-OFF 



<£ 




[i8 9 ] 



In so far as the State Highway is con- 
cerned Napa County, while having little 
mileage, is fortunate in being connected 
with both Coast and Valley trunk lines. 

The highway reaching from Calistoga 
to Mount St. Helena is the present toll 
road. Under the 1919 State Highway 
bond issue a road is to be built "con- 
necting the roads of Napa and Lake 
Counties" but in the latter part of 1919 
no route had been adopted. Plans for 
highway betterment between Napa, 
Capell Valley and Monticello form part 
of the 1920 road building program of the 
Napa County Supervisors. 



California Highways 

city of Napa, as president, F. S. Cairns of St. Helena as vice- 
president, and C. F. Wyer as secretary, also took part, all 
of the directors actively participating. 

The plan finally arrived at involved the raising of $500,- 
000, and on May 28, 1919, this sum was voted by the 
people of Napa County by a majority of something like 
seven to one, Dr. Arthur Chisholm of Napa being the man 
who led throughout the campaign. The Calistoga Chamber 
of Commerce, with T. M. McGrail, president, C. A. 
Carrol, A. D. Rodgers and Mrs. Ruth Fuller Field, its 
secretary, assumed charge of the campaign in the Calistoga 
district, with E. L. Armstrong, Charles Armstrong, Owen 
Kenny, C. E. Carroll and others participating, while in St. 
Helena the active man in charge was H. J. Chinn who was 
assisted by W. F. Bornhorst and F. W. Mieling, president, 
and secretary of the Chamber of Commerce, and Messrs. 
Ed Bellarie, F. S. Cairns, L. F. McDonald, F. L. Alexander, 
and F. B. Mackinder. 

From the accompanying map it will be seen that the high- 
way provided serves only a limited section of the county and 
is but twenty-seven miles in length, this stretch, however, 
carrying a major part of the county road traffic and requir- 
ing, under the old plan, by far the greater proportion of the 
county's annual road fund in patchwork and repairs. With 
this fund released the plan adopted and made possible by 
the bond issue provides for a general road improvement 
throughout the county; a better highway over the Berryessa 
grade into the valley of that name, which is in the eastern 
part of the county, being one of the first roads planned. 

In relation to bridges, Napa County stands unique among 
the counties of California, having adhered practically with- 
out exception to the construction of stone bridges rather than 
concrete. More bridges of this type exist in this county than 
in all the other counties of California combined, principal 
among these being the huge three-span structure near the 
town of Monticello which spans Putah Creek, an ever-living 
stream in the Berryessa Valley which flows into the Sacra- 
mento River. Another is the Big Trancas bridge across the 

[ x 9° ] 







On 



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Between Napa and Rutherford. To be paved with 
concrete in 1920. 



Napa County 

Napa River a few miles above the city of Napa, the total 
number of stone bridges and culverts in the county being 
more than four hundred. In the construction of these bridges 
much attention has been devoted to artistic development 
and, as a whole, they supply an added attraction to the scenic 
beauty of this little California county which, situated so 
close to San Francisco as to be practically a suburb, nestles 
among hills that suggests some tiny bit of mountain fairy- 
land. Throughout the county many highly mineralized 
springs exist of proven curative value, the waters of one 
particular spring being nationally advertised and shipped all 
over the United States, supplying much road traffic from 
spring to railhead. In the upper part of the Napa Valley, at 
the little mountain town of Calistoga, in the old days was one 
of California's most famous resorts, and here, in the shadow 
of Mount St. Helena, where Robert Louis Stevenson wrote 
"The Silverado Squatters," is the gateway into Lake County, 
where thousands of people flock each year. At Calistoga 
half a dozen geysers tell of subterranean fires, while a few 
miles distant the vast trees of a petrified fo/est lie strewn 
about. 

In the center of the valley the town of St. Helena is the 
focus of a rich area in which is situated one of the most 
famous of California's sanitariums, maintained by Seventh- 
Day Adventists, while at Napa, where tidewater naviga- 
tion is had upon the Napa River, a volume of manufac- 
turing has arisen that contributes to the county's wealth. 

The standard established by Napa County is creditable 
indeed, the concrete roads built and under plan being 
eighteen feet wide and at least five inches thick; the future 
program being to connect the Napa County road system with 
the Sonoma County system north of Calistoga, the con- 
nection with Lake County being provided for by the State 
Highway and involving the taking over of or supplying of 
an alternative route to a toll road, that relic of mediaeval 
times, which climbs over the massive shoulder of Mount St. 
Helena toward Lake County and is blocked by a gate where 
traffic for many years has paused to pay. 

[191] 



CHAPTER XXX 

ORANGE COUNTY 

In 1 913 this county passed a bond issue of $ 1,270,000 for a 
permanent highway system, building with the money 
thus supplied 11 8.2 miles of concrete road 4 inches in thick- 
ness, 32.8 miles being of a width of 16 feet; 70.8 miles of a 
width of 18 feet and 14.6 miles of a width of 20 feet, the 
system generally being regarded throughout California as 
one of the best in the entire state. In advancing the bond 
issue under which these roads were provided, a County 
Highway Commission was appointed by the Board of Super- 
visors, the original commission being made up of M* M. 
Crookshank, chairman, of Santa Ana; Richard Egan, of 
San Juan Capistrano; and D. C. Pixley of Orange, with 
Daniel S. Halladay as Chief Engineer. During active con- 
struction work the following commissioners were in charge 
for the greater portion of the time, D. C. Pixley of Orange; 
R. J. McFadden, Anaheim; W. T. Newland, Huntington 
Beach, and N. T. Edwards, Orange, their chief engineer 
being S. H. Finley of Santa Ana. 

Not content with the very satisfactory mileage built under 
the bond issue the Board of Supervisors of Orange County 
have added quite an extensive mileage of permanent high- 
ways built out of their annual road building funds 40.8 miles 
of the roads so built being of concrete, 4 inches in thickness 
from 16 to 22 feet wide, while 4.9 miles is of asphaltic con- 
crete 5 inches thick and 22 feet in width, the man in charge 
of this work being County Surveyor J. L. McBride, the total 
road mileage of the county in the summer of 191 9, so far as 
permanent county pavements are concerned, being 163.9 
miles. It may be said the Board of Supervisors made up of 

[192] 




1? 



.bo <^ 



^ <-> 



^ £ 



^ 
J5 




The Oxnard-San Juan Capistrano State Highway 
follows this rugged coast line through Orange County. 




An Artist Colony on the Coast of Orange County on the 
line of the Oxnard-San Juan Capistrano Highway. 



Orange County 

T. B. Talbert, chairman, of Huntington Beach; Wm. 
Schumacher, Buena Park; Fred W. Struck, Orange; Jasper 
Leek, Tustin; and H. E. Smith of Santa Ana, which was in 
charge during most of the work laid the foundation for the 
present splendid system. 

Most good roads enthusiasts have dreamed, perhaps, of 
that happy condition which approximates the impossible 
and comprehends unlimited road building funds. Few of 
them, however, have ever hoped to live to see such a con- 
dition, yet this very condition exists in Orange County for 
so valuable are the developed acreages there, so much wealth 
is pumped out in the recently developed oil fields and so 
great is the bean and sugar beet production that the Board 
of Supervisors has practically all the money it needs for road 
development of the most impressive kind. 

In the road distribution of the county it may be said that 
the State Highway system which trends through the county 
in a general northwestwardly and southeastwardly direction 
forms the main trunk line to which the county system is 
tributary and over this main line an enormous flood of travel 
pours, the development of interurban automobile stage and 
truck traffic having followed promptly on the development 
of the road system and reached a tremendous volume. Sup- 
plementing the State Highway the county system links every 
town in the county with every other town, in addition to 
providing roads in every section where production is 
sufficient to warrant the building of paved highways. 

One of the road developments of Orange County which is 
creditable is that which connects with the good roads 
systems of Riverside and San Bernardino Counties and 
supplies an almost direct line from the mountains of the 
interior to the ocean. This road, winding its way high up 
on the hillsides through Santa Ana Canyon, is an attractive 
tourist boulevard giving a twofold view of mountains on 
one side with valley and ocean on the other, and is of the 
type of construction employed in the general county plan. 
In extension of this road the concrete highway known as 
the Laguna Canyon road is worthy of mention, leaving the 

[193] 



[ J 94] 



The State Highway 
Route along the coast is 
part of the Oxnard-San 
Juan Capistrano ocean 
shore highway provided 
for by the ipzp State High- 
way bond issue and forms 
a link in a proposed coast 
road from Mexico to 
Oregon. 



SUNSL 
3EACH 



HUNT// 
BEAC/ 




C NEW> 
^ BEAC 



HIGHWAY MAP 




O F TH E 


o 


COUNTY 
O R AN G E 


e 


CALIFORNIA 


s, 


SCALE 




5 IO 
MILES 




Map data fi 

courtesy 

County 



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SAN 


BERNARDINO 


COUNT r^ 


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r — J 




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\To Riverside * 
7 'i^&* 5an Bernardino 







r > 



) H.\ 






LEGEND 

State Highway 
County Highway 
County Roads 






\ 



^ 







5/1// £/£££ 
COUNTY 



To San Diego 



[195] 



Orange County^ in the 
latter part of 1019 has 
146.60 miles of paved 
highways. 

Owing to its small size 
and high assessed value it 
has been able to develop 
one of the most compre- 
hensive county highway 
systems in California. 



California Highways 

State Highway at Irvine, a short distance southeast of 
Santa Ana, and reaching the ocean shore at Laguna where 
an attractive beach is to be found. 

In the northern part of the county where the well devel- 
oped oil fields are producing much wealth each year, the 
road system has been extended to serve all the commercial 
needs which exist and tributary to this area is a road already 
under development reaching through Brea Canyon and 
connecting with the already established Los Angeles County 
system, supplying a short cut from Pomona and adjacent 
points to the ocean shore and connecting with the Los 
Angeles-Riverside State Highway. Just how comprehensive 
the road system of Orange County is may be seen by refer- 
ence to the accompanying map and while the roads there 
charted have been built with reference to supplying the 
citizens of the county with commercially needed highways, 
county road development from a strictly touring standpoint 
has long been contemplated involving the construction of an 
ocean shore road from the Los Angeles County line near Seal 
Beach to Serra, just below San Juan Capistrano Point, 
where the State Highway emerges from the interior and 
skirts the ocean shore under towering palisades, so close to 
the waves, sometimes, that the salt spray from the breakers 
drifts across the right of way. 

In planning this road a connection between the various 
beach resorts of Orange County was, perhaps, the governing 
factor and with its construction Seal Beach, Sunset Beach, 
Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Balboa, Laguna, and 
Arch Beach will be made easily accessible by a splendidly 
picturesque drive. This road, originally conceived in the 
minds of Orange County's Board of Supervisors, has been 
comprehended in the plans of the State Highway under the 
1919 bond issue and two surveys, one made by the county, 
the other by the State, have been made. Of these surveys 
it may be said without injustice to the State Highway 
officials, the county survey, made by County Surveyor 
McBride, to the lay mind, is the best in that it is laid out 
along purely scenic lines following the curve of the coast and 

[196] 




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Orange County 

disclosing one continuous panorama of splendid views that 
shift and change with almost kaleidoscopic endlessness, while 
the State Highway line, laid out with the idea that a straight 
line is the shortest distance between two given points, leaves 
the coast occasionally just far enough to spoil the view. 

The right of way for this road lies mostly within the prop- 
erty holdings of one individual, Mr. James Irvine of San 
Francisco and Santa Ana, whose title traces back to a 
Spanish grant for 108,000 acres, comparatively little of 
which has been sold, and when approached by the officials of 
Orange County and told of their plans, Mr. Irvine at once 
announced that he would deed the right of way to the county 
without cost, this public-spirited act following the donation 
of a public playground known as Orange County Park, by 
Mr. Irvine, to which a concrete highway tracing up through 
Santiago Canyon is now being built. 

From a scenic standpoint the road above described is one 
of the most important tourist road developments now under 
plan in the entire state and forms the southernmost link in 
that proposed ocean shore boulevard planned under the new 
State Highway bond issue which reaches from Oxnard in 
Ventura County to a connection with the State Highway 
below San Juan Capistrano Point. As evidence that the 
people of the county appreciated the efforts of those who 
participated actively in the good-roads movement it might 
be stated that Mr. S. H. Finley, who served as chief engineer, 
Mr. N. T. Edwards, one of the commissioners, and Mr. H. A. 
Wassum, who was an enthusiastic supporter of the work, have 
all been elected and are now serving upon the Board of 
Supervisors. Supplementing the efforts of the board and 
working with them in full harmony to secure the utmost 
county road development is Mr. J. L. McBride, the county 
surveyor, and these men, backed by a well-defined public 
sentiment which is based on a first-hand knowledge of what 
good roads are, have but one object in mind, to make of 
Orange County the banner good roads county of California, 
and are contemplating another bond issue. 

[197] 



CHAPTER XXXI 

RIVERSIDE COUNTY 

This county, in 1915, bonded for $1,125,000, and since 
that time has built 105.39 miles of sixteen-foot-wide, 
four-inch- thick, concrete pavement and 35.17 miles of oil 
macadam of the same width, the thickness of the oil mac- 
adam roads being five inches and their location being in those 
sections where travel, at the time they were planned at 
least, was comparatively light. Though easy enough in the 
telling, Riverside County did not achieve good roads with- 
out a hard fight, for in 191 5 that tremendous good roads 
sentiment which in 191 9 has reached into every part of 
the United States was in the very earliest stage of its 
development and the "Show me, I'm a Missourian" with his 
"Good roads are all right, but — " was more actively present 
everywhere than, thanks be, he is in 1919. None the less 
Riverside County got a good roads bond issue safely across, 
a County Highway Commission being appointed by the 
Board of Supervisors to lay out a road plan, to suggest a 
method of financing and, generally, to take charge. This 
commission was made up of W. B. Clancy, president of the 
Citizens National Bank, chairman; A. P. Campbell, secre- 
tary; and S. C. Evans, all of these men being residents of 
Riverside; Mr. Campbell being formerly city engineer of 
that place; Mr. Evans now being senator from Riverside 
County and the man who got the rights of way practically 
all without cost. 

With these men the then Board of Supervisors, made up of 
T. F. Flaherty, Riverside, chairman; J. T. Hamner, Co- 
rona; J. A. Packard, Riverside; C. D. Hamilton, Banning; 
John Shaver, San Jacinto, joined actively in putting the 

[198] 







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Riverside County 

bond issue across and history says that they had quite a 
festive time, finally carrying the issue by about five to one, 
the engineer appointed to take charge of construction work 
being Mr. George M. Pearson, formerly county surveyor of 
Riverside County. 

With a county about similar in area to one of the smaller 
eastern states it is quite apparent that the Highway Com- 
mission and its engineer had a big job on hand; the road 
distribution, as will be seen from the accompanying map, 
tying up the different towns of the county around which the 
main traffic problems centered. 

This traffic was large and varied, a recent survey of prod- 
ucts grown in Riverside County recording that of citrus 
fruit alone, 331 carloads of lemons and 1374 cars of oranges 
were hauled in 191 8 from point of origin to railroad. In 
addition to this road load, 486 tons of almonds, 1045 tons °f ' 
apples, 10,176 tons of apricots, 634 tons of olives, 5692 tons 
of peaches, 184 tons of walnuts, 6250 tons of grapes, 130,000 
tons of alfalfa, 13,120 bales of cotton, 600,000 sacks of grain, 
31,000 tons of hay, 55,000 sacks of potatoes, including 
sweets, 40,000 bushels of corn, 7300 tons of tomatoes, and 
70,000 sacks of beans served to supply that commercial need 
which, in the main, is the prime justification for expensive 
paved roads. 

In so far as the State Highway system is concerned River- 
side County, prior to 191 6, had only a few miles, which 
reached into Riverside, a distance of about twelve miles, 
this stretch being the county seat lateral. In 191 6, however, 
the Coachella Valley branch of the State Highway into 
Imperial County, on the western side of Salton Sea and 
connecting at El Centro with the San Diego- Yuma road, was 
provided for and now forms a main trunk line through the 
eastern part of the county to which, under the 191 9 bond 
issue, another State Highway route has been tied reaching 
from Mecca, north of the Salton Sea, to Blythe at the 
Arizona line. 

The history of this road is interesting and its presence in 
the 1 919 bond issue is due mainly to the efforts of Chairman 

[ J 99] 





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California Highways 

Flaherty of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, 
who made a host of friends by the fight he put up to include 
this road in the bonding plan and won out by sheer persist- 
ency from a start that seemed to afford him not a chance. 

As will be seen by reference to the accompanying map, the 
road system developed under the bond issue ties up River- 
side, the county seat, with every town in the county and also 
connects with the road systems of Orange and San Diego 
Counties, the road bearing the major burden of travel being 
that, perhaps, which trends to the southwest from River- 
side through Corona to the Orange County line. 

Next to this road is that which, under the plan being ad- 
vanced in San Diego County in 1919, will form part of what 
is popularly known as the Inland Highway. This highway 
trends generally to the south, reaches Perris, Elsinore, and 
on toward Temecula in Riverside County, skirting the 
shores of Elsinore Lake and supplying a touring trip that is 
full of scenic interest as well as giving the residents of San 
Bernardino and Riverside Counties direct access to San 
Diego by way of Escondido. 

From this road at Perris a branch of the highway trends 
to the eastward reaching Hemet and San Jacinto in the 
central western portion of the county. 

In the eastern part of the county the road needs are cared 
for by the San Bernardino-El Centro-Yuma branch of the 
State Highway which passes Beaumont, Banning, Indio, 
Coachella, Thermal, and Mecca, by way of San Gorgonio 
Pass; traverses the Coachella Valley with its unique date 
ranches, where government experiment stations are engaged 
in fostering the development of this new California crop. 

From Mecca to the Palo Verde Valley, where cotton is 
raised in wonderful excellence and quantity, the new Mecca- 
Blythe State Highway line above referred to serves all needs, 
traversing the center of Chuckawalla Valley, Eagle Moun- 
tains, Coxcomb Mountains, Palens Mountains, and Santa 
Maria Mountains to the north, while to the south the saw- 
tooth ridges of the Chuckawallas lift up in grotesque array. 

In discussing this stretch of state road it is only fair to §ay 

[ 2 ° 2 ] 




Highway in Coachella Valley ', showing date ranch. 



;* 




%*» 




Riverside County has built paved roads in the desert and 
given them to the State Highway. 




/. 







■W 



t Riverside County 

that Riverside County has put in eleven miles of rock road 
in the desert near Indio, in addition to which twenty-two 
miles have been graded and oiled, the expenditure involved 
approximating $70,000 contributed directly to the State 
Highway. 

In great portion mountainous and comprehending wide- 
spread stretches of desert where water has not, as yet, been 
brought to the naturally fertile soil, Riverside County is 
interesting from a touring standpoint and one road, devel- 
oped purely from this viewpoint, is entitled to mention. 

This road, affectionately dubbed Jack Rabbit Trail by 
the people of Riverside, is formally known as San Gorgonio 
Drive, a wonderfully scenic way down from the plateau to 
the west of Banning, which discloses the sweep of the moun- 
tains to the north and west and looks out over a valley 
dotted with orange groves in the distance, upthrust pointed 
hills in the foreground and the dim of the bluffs that flank 
the ocean far behind. 

To end this brief discussion of the Riverside County road 
system without touching upon the road up Mount Roubi- 
doux would not be fair, even though this road lies wholly 
within the city limits of Riverside. Uphill it winds, looping 
this way and that, one way up and the other way down, to 
the very peak of the hill and from this point the view is 
wonderful. One looks down upon the tops of Riverside's 
many handsome homes, and over a long perspective view of 
the State Highway, while in the background to the west and 
north and east a piled-up wall of mountains lifts back of 
a green-patched valley where oranges and lemons grow. 

As for the future, while no definite plan has yet been put 
in force, each year a bit of good road is put in here and there 
by County Surveyor A. C. Fulmor and in the end this 
county, even as big as it is, with its deserts and its moun- 
tains, will have no cause to feel ashamed of its road develop- 
ment, the present Board of Supervisors, which is the same as 
the one which put the bond issue across save for Mr. Shaver, 
who has been succeeded by Mr. R. S. Smith, being firmly 
united in its road-development plans. 

t 2 °3] 



CHAPTER XXXII 

SACRAMENTO COUNTY 

To Sacramento County belongs the honor of being the 
first California county to pass a bond issue for good 
roads, the sum provided being $600,000, with an additional 
$225,000 for bridges, the year of the issuance of the bonds 
being 1908, the roads built being of oil macadam, and David 
Ahern, H. K. Johnson, and C. W. McKillip of Sacramento, 
J. H. Donnelly of Folsom, and L. C. Thisby of Walnut 
Grove, who made up the Sacramento County Board of 
Supervisors, being the men who built them, under direction 
of C. M. Phinney, the County Surveyor. A Highway Com- 
mission was appointed to share in the work, this Commis- 
sion being in part made up of W. E. Gerber, Archibald Yell, 
Philip Johnson, Philip Kohn, John Donahue and Philip 
Reese. 

Scarcely had these roads been finished before it 
became a foregone conclusion that further development 
must take place, and in 1914 another bond issue was essayed, 
which failed to carry. No whit abashed and eternally 
optimistic, as all dyed-in-the-wool good roads enthusiasts 
are, the men who had taken part in this unsuccessful attempt 
arose the morning after, girded their loins, and proceeded to 
lay the foundation for another campaign. In extension of 
this purpose petitions were put in circulation for the appoint- 
ment of a County Highway Commission, and within a short 
time, the necessary signatures being obtained, the Sacra- 
mento County Board of Supervisors appointed F. B. Mc- 
Kevitt, W. S. Caruthers, and G. N. Randle to lay out a 
county highway system. R. C. Irvine is now serving in 
place of Mr. Randle, who found that it was impossible to 

[204] 




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Sacramento County 

continue and do justice to his own affairs, Mr. Irvine's 
appointment being by way of proof of the triumph of eternal 
justice, he being a member of the 1895 Bureau of Highways 
and as much responsible for the start of highway improve- 
ment in California as any other man. 

In casting about for an engineer to serve as their executive 
officer the Sacramento County Highway Commission settled 
upon R. M. Morton, who had served as engineer in the 
building of the San Joaquin County highways. 

To help in the work of road improvement the Sacramento 
County Good Roads Association had been organized, with 
George W. Peltier as president, Charles B. Bills as vice- 
president, F. S. Peck as treasurer, and W. A. Meyer as 
secretary, among other members of the board of directors 
being Robert T. Devlin, L. S. Upson, J. C. Havely, Herman 
Davis, John T. Skelton, president of the Sacramento 
Chamber of Commerce; Mrs. C. K. McClatchy, J. E. Lang- 
don, managing editor of the Sacramento Bee; Lynn C. Simp- 
son, editor of the Sacramento Union ; and Craddock Meredith 
of the Sacramento Retail Merchants' Association. At the 
proper time a campaign was put on, under the leadership 
of Mr. Peltier, which resulted in carrying the bonds, the 
amount involved being $1,750,000 and the road mileage 
being 124.42, to which has been added other construction 
which makes up a total of 150 miles. 

During the campaign four members of the Board of Super- 
visors, William J. O'Brien and C. E. Mahoney of Sacra- 
mento, John Russi of Folsom, and Perley K. Bradford of Elk 
Grove, got out and worked for the bonds, while Robert E. 
Callahan, the chairman, an individual of definite opinions 
and accustomed to stick by them, was opposed, believing 
and getting an irritating number of others to believe that 
the direct tax method was superior to bonds, backing up his 
statements by pointing to over a million dollars' worth of 
county improvements, made up of bridges, roads and public 
buildings, which had been paid for as built by direct tax at a 
low tax rate. 

In the ensuing battle, however, right prevailed, as right 

[205] 



[206] 



An extension of the highway built by 
the Natomas Company is planned to 
connect with a proposed Sutter County 
highway. An extension of the Sacra- 
mento-Del Paso-Elverta highway will 
also connect with a Sutter County high- 
way and supply a short cut to Marys- 
ville, Yuba City, Chico and upper val- 
ley points. 'The county highway reach- 
ing down the Sacramento River to Rio 
Vista connects with a highway proposed 
under the 1919 State bond issue which 
will connect Rio Vista with Fairfield 
and Suisun and will supply an alter- 
native and very attractive route to San 
Francisco when completed. It is built 
on top of the high river levee and carries 
a heavy volume of tonnage supplied by 
the prolific orchards of the river bottom 
section. 



SUT TER 



£fz*£f* 

\bElvertc, Antelope 




HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE 

COUNTY 

SACRAMENTO 

CALIFORNIA 

SCALE 







7© PLYMOUTH 
+ UACKSON 



TO OACKSON 



S TA TE HIGH WA Y 
TO STOCKTON 



COUN TY 



LEGEND 

State Hwy. 
County Hwy. 
Proposed Rds. 



[207] 



With one of the best systems of County 
highways in the State, Sacramento 
County is each year adding a few miles 
of paved roads built by the Board of 
Supervisors out of current funds. 'The 
State Highway route shown from Folsom 
toward Placerville is probably the most 
popular route to Lake Tahoe and forms 
an alternative route to that lake by way of 
Auburn and Truckee. An extension of 
the road from Sheldon to Slough House 
is part of the county's road plan. The 
State Highway route to Clay from the 
main line above Gait was paved by the 
County and given to the State. 



California Highways 
* 
usually does prevail, at least in the copy books which Mr. 
Spencer used to publish years ago, and all concerned 
promptly forgot their differences and proceeded gladly to 
build roads, the principal highway provided in the system 
adopted being that extending down the Sacramento River 
thirty-four miles to a point opposite Rio Vista in Solano 
County, passing through what is termed in "boost" litera- 
ture "The Netherlands of America," where tens of thousands 
of acres of rich alluvial soil, protected from overflow by 
levees, supplied with ample water and warmed by almost 
continuous sunshine, produces enormous crops. 

From a scenic standpoint also this road is thoroughly 
worth while, spread on the top of the high levee and following 
the meanderings of the Sacramento River, which, rating 
fourth among the navigable rivers of the United States in 
point of tonnage, stands easily first in variety of water craft. 
Connecting with a proposed State Highway road at Rio 
Vista in Solano County by means of a tremendous bascule 
bridge, costing $250,000, a joint county enterprise, this road 
forms an alternative route into San Francisco, connecting 
with the State Highway at Fairfield, the county seat of 
Solano County. 

Next in importance to the river boulevard is the Slough 
House Road, which, in the old days, lived up to its name by 
turning into a quagmire in the rainy season through which 
it was sometimes impossible to drag even an empty wagon. 
Two road connections from Sacramento to the Fair Oaks- 
Folsom foothills district were also supplied under the bond 
issue, the section reached being devoted largely to orange 
and olive production and also esteemed one of the most 
attractive suburban home sections in the county. One of 
these roads leaves Sacramento by way of the H Street 
bridge, the other over the Auburn State Highway connecting 
with Greenback Lane, both forming links in a short and 
attractive tour reaching Folsom over a concrete bridge built 
with funds provided by direct tax on plans drawn by County 
Surveyor Drury Butler's office. 

[208] 



*f 






S <^ 






,-#-: 



Between Hood and Franklin, 
during bond campaign. 



This picture was used 




This picture , taken in same location shows effect of bend 
campaign. 




On the river levee below Sacramento. Hauling from the 
orchards was practically impossible over this road. Picture 
made in ip/6. 




The new highway. Picture made in 1919. 



Sacramento County 

Another road of much importance is that reaching Clay 
Station from Gait and forming part of the Amador County 
lateral of the State Highway, while the Sheldon Road, th? 
Del Paso-Robla-Elverta Road, the Pocket Road, and other 
short stretches form a concrete county highway system 
which, with the roads put in by Supervisors Russi and Brad- 
ford by direct tax, supplies what in 1919 is the second largest 
concrete county highway mileage in the state. Worthy of 
mention in concluding the discussion of the Sacramento 
County highway system is a thirteen-mile stretch of concrete 
road built upon the Sacramento River levee by the Natomas 
Company of California, a corporation engaged in reclaiming 
vast areas of rich bottom land. This highway, put in to 
serve the road needs of the district, is attractive from a 
scenic standpoint equally with the down-river stretch, and 
to make it more popular the Natomas Company has supplied 
numerous shaded camping and picnic places below the road 
along the Sacramento River bank. 

Notable bridge structures in addition to those provided 
under the first bond issue have been built by the Board of 
Supervisors under direct tax, the I Street and M Street 
bridges serving the public, the Southern Pacific Railway 
and the Oakland, Antioch and Eastern electric railway line, 
respectively, Sacramento County, Yolo County, and the 
railway corporations sharing in the cost. The Twelfth Street 
bridge over the American River on the Auburn State High- 
way is another massive concrete structure built by the Board 
of Supervisors, while a huge bascule bridge at Walnut Grove 
supplies a link in the down-river highway, which, before 
completion, will have another bridge at Isleton, funds there- 
for being provided in the 191 6 County Highway bond issue. 

All in all it may be said that Sacramento County is 
doing creditable highway work, and the two new members 
of the Board of Supervisors, Messrs. Charles S. Alvord and 
John Scholefield, who in the fall of 191 8 succeeded Messrs. 
O'Brien and Bradford, have already aligned themselves 
with the hold-over members of the board as in favor of more 
concrete roads. 

[209] 



CHAPTER XXXIII 

SAN BERNARDINO COUNTY 

With an area of twenty thousand one hundred fifty-seven 
square miles this county is the largest county in the 
United States, almost exactly equaling in size the combined 
area of Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Jersey, and it 
might be said that its road problems are of equal magnitude 
owing to the fact that the greater part of the county *s area, 
lying to the north and east of the Sierra Madre and San 
Bernardino mountains, has been known for years as "The 
Desert," this term being relative only, as vast acreages there 
need only water to bring them into productive use. 

To the south and west of the mountains is the main 
settled portion of the county in the San Bernardino Valley, 
an area about equal in size to the state of Rhode Island and 
here, where ample water is to be had at little cost oranges, 
lemons and grapefruit are produced each year in tremendous 
quantity supplying a heavy road tonnage which is moved 
from place of origin to market or shipping points over a 
splendid concrete county highway system to provide which a 
bond issue of $ 1,750,000 was voted by the people of the 
county in 1915. 

The road system provided under this bond issue consists 
of 124.24 miles of concrete highways, sixteen feet wide and 
four inches thick with three foot shoulders of oil bound mac- 
adam, the overall width of the highways being twenty-two 
feet. In addition to the concrete roads built under the bond 
issue, 96.14 miles of 4 inch-thick, oil bound macadam roads 
twenty feet wide were comprehended therein, to serve those 
sections of the county where the road burden was not of 
sufficient tonnage or volume to justify the more expensive 

[210] 




Looking down river at Colorado River bridge at Topoc, 
Arizona. 




Perspective view of same bridge from the California side 
of Colorado River. 



San Bernardino County 

type of pavement, the total extent of paved roads provided 
under the bond issue being 220.38 miles which may be 
regarded merely as a start. 

Practically all of this mileage lies within the small area 
south-west of the mountains, the exception being a paved 
road reaching northward from the city of San Bernardino, 
the county seat, to the summit of Cajon Pass, popularly 
known as the "Gateway into California," from which point 
an unpaved county road leads out into the mystery of the 
desert to Barstow where it forms a connection with the 
Bars tow-Needles road. 

To represent them in the construction of the roads pro- 
vided for by the bond issue the San Bernardino County 
Board of Supervisors appointed a county highway commis- 
sion made up of Messrs. J. B. Gill, San Bernardino; J. J. 
Prendergast, Redlands; and W. A. Freemire, Ontario; Mr. 
Prendergast serving only a short time and giving place to 
George S. Hinckley of Redlands. 

The engineer selected to take active charge of the work 
was Mr. J. S. Bright, Jr., of San Bernardino and during the 
entire period of construction the Board of Supervisors, the 
Highway Commission and the engineer worked in entire 
harmony with only one thought in mind, to provide a sadly 
needed county highway system in the shortest time com- 
patible with securing an economical job. 

Perhaps the most important road both commercially and 
for tourists built by San Bernardino County under the bond 
issue is that beginning at the west county line near Ontario 
and running through the heart of the San Bernardino Valley 
to San Bernardino by way of Colton near which place it 
connects with the State Highway. This road, in addition 
to supplying a paved highway for the heavy hauling which 
has been developed there, furnishes one of two alternative 
routes parallel to the Foothill Boulevard for travel between 
Los Angeles and San Bernardino. 

In the section of the county around Redlands also the road 
tonnage is heavy, more than 5000 carloads of oranges being 
the normal yearly shipment which naturally must be hauled 

[2il] 



/ r P -X 



C O U N T Y 




The highway development of San Bernardino County is centered around San Bernardino 
and Redlands, about half of the State Highway route reaching Victorville having been paved by 
the county and given to the state. 



[213] 



HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE 

CO UNTY 
SAN BERNARDINO 

CALIFORNIA 

SCALE 

Z- 



I — !F- 

MILES' 



o 

\ To -? LA LEGEN D 

NT^' State' Highway 
?\ County Highway 

J N^ County Roads 
5 . v h 




DOES -A 

7b Oaf man ^rv 

8, Kingman 

ToJQnsas C/tcj y/a 
^Trails*/* 



73 



PARKE* 

to Phoenix 



U N TY 



BLYTH£\ 
JCT. 



To8/yMe 



Map data furnished by 
courtesy of Auto Club of So.Cal. 



The State Highway route reaching from Kramer by way of Barstow to Needles is a project 
of the 1919 State Highway bond issue and will supply one of the main entrances into Cali- 
fornia for transcontinental travel. The loop north of San Bernardino is the 10 1 mile drive. 



California Highways 

from point of production to rail head while in the Chino 
district is located one of the largest beet sugar factories in 
the state to which loads of sugar beets are hauled that test 
the highways as no other product of the county does. With 
a comparatively restricted area in which heavy hauling 
exists the road system built under the county bond issue has 
served well to meet the county's needs but in the area north 
of the mountains the existent road problems are sufficiently 
weighty to afford the Board of Supervisors much food for 
thought. For years one of these problems, the main one 
perhaps of the multitude which exist, has beea the building 
of a road from Barstow to Needles to supply a comfortable 
en try way into California for a popularly traveled trans- 
continental highway over which, as road development takes 
place in the states enroute a constantly increasing volume of 
traffic comes to California each year. The distance between 
Barstow and Needles is 170 miles and it will be seen at once 
that the construction of this road would impose a burden 
upon San Bernardino County too great to bear. Realizing 
the need of this road not only to their own county but also to 
the state the San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors, 
when the matter of a new State Highway bond issue was 
proposed early in 19 19, delegated one of its members, Mr. 
R. L. Riley, of Colton, to attend the meeting which was 
called to take place in San Francisco, and at this meeting 
the Bars tow-Needles road was made part of the proposed 
state plan and one of the white man's burdens which San 
Bernardino County had borne for years was forever removed. 
While popularly said to terminate at Needles the eastern 
terminus of this long stretch of desert road is at a point on 
the California line opposite the small Arizona town of 
Topoc, where a bridge across the Colorado river supplies 
one of the most interesting structures in the State road 
system. The expense of this bridge was borne jointly by the 
States of Arizona and California and the United States 
Commission upon Indian Affairs, the plans therefor being 
drawn in the office of Mr. J. A. Sourwine, the then county 
surveyor of San Bernardino County, Mr. J. P. Kemmerer, 

[ 2 i 4 ] 




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San Bernardino County 

afterwards county surveyor and now a deputy in the office 
under county surveyor Edgar T. Ham, being responsible in 
large measure for their completion. In span the bridge is 
five hundred ninety-two feet in the clear with a total length 
of eight hundred thirty-two feet, forms the connecting link 
between the east and west over the Colorado river, and 
carries an ever increasing number of automobile parties lured 
to California by the spell of her good roads. 

In charge of the current road problems of San Bernardino 
County is Mr. L. R. Lothrop, County Highway Commis- 
sioner, this office having been created by a county charter 
adopted in 191 2 and in his work Mr. Lothrop has developed 
the plan of employing in road construction, men sentenced 
to the county jail for minor offenses, paying them 35 cents 
a day for their work. These men are well fed and housed 
and to their efforts is due the most striking of Southern 
California's many scenic boulevards officially designated 
as "The One Hundred and One Mile Drive on the Rim of 
the World" but popularly known as the "Hundred and One 
Mile Drive," originally built by San Bernardino County 
but now forming part of the State Highway. 

Just how many miles of roads exist in this largest of 
California's counties probably no one knows; but the main 
traveled highways of the county from figures supplied by 
County Surveyor Edgar T. Ham, amount to 4331 miles 
consisting of 3475 miles of dirt roads, 330 miles of oiled dirt, 
96 miles of oil bound macadam exclusive of the State High- 
way. That there will be constant increase in paved road 
mileage of San Bernardino County is assured by the Board 
of Supervisors which consists of J. B. Glover, Redlands, 
chairman; R. L. Riley, Col ton; C. E. Grier, Upland; A. G. 
Kendall, San Bernardino; and A. B. Mulvane, Amboy, for 
these men are in perfect harmony with Road Commissioner 
Lothrop, County Surveyor Ham and his assistant, Mr. 
Kemmerer, all of them uniting in the belief that no better 
application can be made of county funds than to carry on 
the building of permanent highways. 

[215] 



CHAPTER XXXIV 

SAN FRANCISCO CITY AND COUNTY 

THE City and County of San Francisco, small in area and 
thickly settled throughout, with many manufacturing and 
commercial enterprises, which supply an enormous burden of 
heavy hauling, naturally finds its main traffic problems 
involved in the construction and maintenance of city streets 
rather than of roads. 

These problems, it may be said, are being intelligently met 
and mastered, even the destruction caused by the fire and 
earthquake of 1906 scarcely seeming to interrupt progress; 
and compared with other big cities of the United States, San 
Francisco stands well up in its street development, having as 
well approximately 20 miles of purely scenic boulevards. 

In so far as its boulevard development is concerned, how- 
ever, the citizens of San Francisco may well be pardoned if 
they express enthusiastic pride, for, in spite of the limited 
area of the city, there have been scenic boulevards developed 
which compare favorably with the most famous of the 
United States — the Twin Peaks drive perhaps ranking above 
all others in variety of interest. 

This highway supplies one of the most wonderful pano- 
ramic views to be had in California, while at the same time 
serving an economic need that alone has justified its entire 
expense in that it has supplied a direct and short-cut con- 
nection between the downtown business district and the 
western portion of the city, where, since the completion of 
this road, an extensive residential development has taken 
place. 

A few years ago, to reach this section of the city, travel 
was compelled to take a circuitous northerly route over 

[216] 




^ I 
s §^ 

^«? § 

I** 

« * ^ 

S S o 

!*^§ 




ST *» 

I" 

^3 R 

§^ 



R ^ 

°0 R 

^ R 

a £ 

"-R R 

* R^ 

^ R R 



San Francisco City and County 

Haight or Fell Street and Lincoln Way to Nineteenth 
Avenue, or a southerly route over Valencia and Mission 
streets and Ocean Avenue. Since the construction of the 
Twin Peaks Drive, however, the distance has been greatly 
shortened, the western part of the city brought into closer 
touch with the business district and made much more ac- 
cessible therefrom for commercial traffic, while at the same 
time a stretch of touring road has been developed that 
climbs up and up to the very top of San Francisco's famous 
Twin Peaks, winds its way about them in a figure eight, and 
supplies a view that sweeps the horizon upon every side. 

The man in the main responsible for this most spectacular 
drive is M. M. O'Shaughnessy, San Francisco's city engineer, 
who conceived the project shortly after he was appointed to 
office and was able, with the enthusiastic support of Mayor 
James Rolph, Jr., and Supervisor Thomas Jennings, at the 
time chairman of the finance committee of the San Francisco 
Board of Supervisors, to get sufficient funds to carry his 
plans into effect. Mr. O'Shaughnessy's principal assistants 
in dealing with the engineering details were H. W. Shimer 
and Clyde E. Healy. 

Next in importance to the Twin Peaks drive is the Great 
Highway, that ocean-shore road reaching from the Cliff 
House and Seal Rocks to Sloat Boulevard. In conjunction 
with the Government's highways through the Presidio and 
the highways supplied by the Park Department in Lincoln 
Park, the Great Highway furnishes a drive which sweeps 
around the northern and western portions of the city and 
connects with the Junipero Serra Boulevard, which travels 
south to the eastward of Merced Lake into the beauties of 
San Mateo County. 

In the development of the Great Highway the principal 
problem involved is in protecting the roadway from en- 
croachment by the ocean, for the placid waters of the Pacific 
sometimes cease to be placid and pound upon the beach in 
such tremendous assault that a concrete sea wall set many 
feet down below the surface of the sands has become neces- 
sary. Part of this sea wall has been already built and as 

[217] 




This map shows the San Francisco boulevard system which is constantly being extended, 
the motor vehicle tax money allotted to San Francisco being employed in this work. 




[2I 9 ] 



No attempt has been made to show the paved highway systems of adjoining counties, this 
map being intended to show the San Francisco boulevard system in detail and to emphasize 
the geographical location of the city by the Golden Gate. 



California Highways 

funds are made available it is being extended, the highway- 
being payed with concrete standard pavement as the wall is 
extended, and within a comparatively short time a modern 
smooth roadway with sea-wall protection will reach from the 
foot of the sheer rock wall below Sutro Park at the Cliff 
House to Sloat Boulevard. At the present time the Great 
Highway is surfaced and amply comfortable to drive over. 
This improvement being merely of a temporary character, 
and over it on a bright Sunday or holiday a tremendous 
volume of automobile traffic flows, supplied by the routes 
described as well as by the smooth driveways which John 
McLaren, superintendent of Golden Gate Park, has provided 
with the help of Curtis H. Lindley, Herbert Fleishhacker, 
John A. McGregor, M. Earl Cummings, and A. B. Spreckels, 
the Park Commissioners. 

Development of the Hunters Point road is another under- 
taking which may well be regarded as a worth-while ac- 
complishment, involving as it did the establishment of a 
roadway eighty feet wide of six-inch concrete base with two- 
inch asphalt wearing surface. This highway carries a heavy 
traffic burden, originating largely from the plant of the 
Union Iron Works, which contributed something like ten 
per cent of the cost of construction. 

To discuss the roadways of San Francisco without touch- 
ing upon the Skyline Boulevard provided for in the 19 19 
bond issue of the state, would scarcely be fair, for this project, 
involving the expenditure of state funds amounting to 
$2,741,000, originated in San Francisco. 

A chance item picked up and printed in the Municipal 
Record, of which H. A. Mason was editor, to the effect that 
a highway along the top of the ridge which extended south 
from San Francisco would supply a wonderful scenic drive 
met the eye of Supervisor Richard J. Welch, who became 
interested, with the result that the 19 19 Legislature ^passed 
a law permitting counties to associate themselves into a 
joint highway district for mutual benefit. 

Under this law, Joint Highway District No. 1 has been 
organized by San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, and 

[ 22 ° ] 




I 



<8 

"S3 

£ . 

1 * 

tot 

^1 

13 



San Francisco City and County 

Santa Cruz counties, a Board of Directors appointed to 
govern its affairs being made up of Richard J. Welch, chair- 
man, of San Francisco; John MacBain, San Mateo County; 
Frank E. Mitchell, Santa Clara County; and J. A. Harvey, 
Santa Cruz County; the secretary being H. A. Mason; and 
the engineering problems, so far as San Francisco is con- 
cerned, being in the hands of Mr. O'Shaughnessy. Starting 
in San Francisco from a point on the ocean beach near Sloat 
Boulevard, skirting the shore of Lake Merced, and traversing 
the counties of San Mateo, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz 
upon the very peak of the ridge that extends to the south 
from San Francisco, the Skyline Boulevard will open up a 
new and attractive touring trip from San Francisco, 
make accessible a new and pleasing region for residential 
development, and also supply an alternative route to the 
State Highway, which is burdened with a mass of travel 
which is of such volume as to constitute an extraordinary 
and ever-increasing traffic congestion. * 

The money for the Skyline Boulevard, as has been said, is 
comprehended in the State Highway bond issue passed in 
July, 1 91 9, the rights of way involved, however, being pro- 
vided by funds raised by the highway district. These rights 
of way, in the fall of 1919, have been practically all provided, 
and active survey work is under way, even though the exact 
determination as to route has not as yet been made. 

Standing back of this work and of all the highway and 
boulevard development plans in progress in San Francisco is 
the 1 91 9 Board of Supervisors, made up of Cornelius J. 
Deasy, Andrew J. Gallagher, J. Emmet Hayden, Fred L. 
Hilmer, Oscar Hocks, John D. Hynes, John C. Kortick, 
Joseph F. Lahaney, Ralph McLeran, James B. McSheehy, 
Joseph Mulvihill, Charles A. Nelson, James E. Power, 
Warren Shannon, E. E. Schmitz, Fred Suhr, Jr., Richard J. 
Welch, and Edward I. Wolfe, and backing them is Mayor 
Rolph, who has done some mighty good things for San 
Francisco in the past and is going to leave behind him when 
he sees fit to retire from the leadership of the city that he has 
served a distinct impress of good civic accomplishment. 

[221] 



CHAPTER XXXV 

SAN JOAQUIN COUNTY 

This county is one of California's pioneer good-roads 
counties, having followed Sacramento and Los Angeles 
counties in voting bonds after a campaign conducted by the 
Stockton Chamber of Commerce, of which at that time J. M. 
Eddy, one of the old-time good-roads enthusiasts of Cali- 
fornia, was secretary. 

The amount of the bond issue was $1,890,000; the year 
voted, 1909; the road system developed was laid out by 
R. M. Morton, detailed direct from Washington by the United 
States Bureau of Public Roads to assist in the improvement 
of the county highways, this being before the development 
of the United States Bureau of Public Roads into its present 
scope, with district offices located in various parts of the 
United States. 

In considering the San Joaquin County bond issue it is 
well to remember that it was passed in those days when the 
concrete road, in California at least, was more or less of an 
unknown quantity; that the California Highway Commission 
had not yet come into being; and that the only counties 
which had passed bond issues had put down roads of oil- 
macadam or asphaltic type. So, naturally, San Joaquin 
County followed in their footsteps. 

After the passage of the bonds and attracted by the 
climate or the road-building opportunities of San Joaquin 
County, Mr. Morton left the Government and having laid 
out the road system proceeded to build it, thus laying a 
foundation for what is today one of the most satisfactory 
examples of a radiating county road system in the state, 
which makes Stockton, the county seat, a large and rapidly 

[ 222 ] 




^ 



o 

■3 e 

s 



Vj •♦■» 




in 

1? ? 









O 



s 



San Joaquin County 

growing commercial and manufacturing center, the focal 
point of a network of highways which reaches fanwise into 
every part of the county. 

In the development of the San Joaquin County road 
system which today, including roads improved by the county 
and taken over by the State Highway, amounting to seventy 
miles, comprehends three hundred eighty-two miles of paved 
highway, roads were built up to the county line of all sur- 
rounding counties, these roads leading to Stockton and 
inviting much business thereto contrary to the peace of mind 
of business men in the nearby counties, the influence of the 
paved highways put in by San Joaquin County, which 
reached into the tremendously fertile and productive down- 
river section of Sacramento County around Walnut Grove, 
doing more to wake up the business men of Sacramento into a 
frantic effort to carry the 191 6 Sacramento County bond 
issue than any other thing. In supporting this bond issue 
these men were urged into activity by the fact that many 
large dollars produced in Sacramento County traveled to 
Stockton over good roads, refusing to go to Sacramento over 
bad ones ; half a million dollars a year being a conservative 
estimate of the amount thus tolled away. 

In reviewing the road development of San Joaquin County 
it may be said that an enormous agricultural production 
takes place, the delta lands in the western part of the county 
having been diked with substantial levees and reclaimed, 
the soil being of sediment and peat, a sample sent to the St. 
Louis Exposition in 1904 being awarded a medal as the 
richest soil in the world, to the eternal satisfaction of the 
Stockton Chamber of Commerce. 

Potatoes 100 sacks to the acre is nothing unusual for the 
delta section to produce, while 22 sacks of beans, 250 sacks 
of onions, 1200 dozen bunches of celery, and 25 sacks of 
barley are commonly grown. The mass of road tonnage thus 
supplied is further augmented by the fact that the city of 
Stockton, situated advantageously upon tidewater trans- 
portation, has grown into one of the most important jobbing 
and manufacturing centers in the state, the tidal rise at the 

t 22 3] 



[224] 



From Stockton through Woodbridge 
to Thornton a paved road has been sup- 
plied to the Sacramento County line, and 
much business has flowed over this road 
each year to Stockton merchants. This 
highway, connecting with a Sacramento 
County highway at Walnut Grove, 
supplies a cross-country route between 
San Joaquin Valley points, and the 
upper California Coast by way of the 
Rio Vista-Suisun road shown on the 
Solano County map on pages 254 and 
25*). The highway from Stockton to the 
west via Holt to the County line is the 
Borden Highway connecting with the 
Contra Costa County system, and 
furnishes an alternative route to San 
Francisco to that supplied by the State 
Highway. It is in process of develop- 
ment in 1919. 



LEGEND 

State Hwy. 
County Hwy 
Proposed Rds 



TO WALNUT GQOVE 



TO SAN FGANCiSCO 
9-OAKLAND V/A 
S TA TE HtGH WA Y 




SACRAMENTO CO 



TO 3ANAMDQEAS 




LOS BAA/OS 
<¥- F/3ESNO 



?TO FRESNO, BAKERS E/ELD 
+ /.OS AA/GETLETS 



HIGHWAY MAP 
of the: 

COU NTY 

SAN JOAQUIN 

CALIFORNIA 



[225] 



The San Joaquin County highways 
probably supply the best example of a 
radiating road system in the State, all 
centering in Stockton, which has drawn 
much trade from adjacent counties there- 
by. To the eastward the highways lead 
into the high Sierras and the old time 
mining region of California and carry a 
considerable burden of touring traffic 
each year. In addition to this touring 
traffic a tremendous tonnage of agri- 
cultural products is each year trans- 
ported to Stockton, which is on tide water 
and ships a great volume of water borne 
freight each year. Constant road ex- 
tension is the policy of the San Joaquin 
County Board of Supervisors. 



California Highways 

head of Stockton Channel being three feet and the annual 
water-borne freight amounting to approximately 2,000,000 
tons, much of which must travel over county roads in its 
journey from producer to consumer. 

In relation to the State Highway system San Joaquin 
County has played an important part, the first chairman of 
the California Highway Commission being Burton A. Towne 
of Lodi, who also took an active part in the development of 
the county's road-building plans. The county is traversed 
from south to north by the main valley trunk line of the 
State Highway system, which reaches from Mexico to 
Oregon, diversion being had over a State Highway route 
which scales Altamont Pass and traverses Dublin Canyon 
for travel headed for San Francisco Bay from southern 
points; the entire stretch of State Highway in San Joaquin 
County being of oil-macadam construction, a donation from 
county to state, now in process of reconstruction and as 
rapidly as possible being supplanted with concrete. 

Not satisfied with developing its own county system of 
highways San Joaquin County is engaged in contributing to 
the general road system of the state, a road reaching from 
Stockton to the northwest supplying direct access to the Rio 
Vista-Suisun-Fairfield link of the 19 19 State Highway plan 
and affording a direct route for San Joaquin Valley residents 
to the upper reaches of the California coast. 

Another road of similar state-wide importance is that 
known as the Borden Highway, which trends practically due 
west from Stockton, passes through a tip of Alameda County, 
and connects with the Contra Costa County road system 
joining the State Highway at Martinez and thence to 
Oakland over the highway which traverses the heights above 
Carquinez Strait and San Pablo Bay. This road, in so far 
as San Joaquin County's contribution thereto is concerned, 
is practically done and will supply when entirely completed a 
route alternative to and much more attractive scenically 
than the present Altamont-Dublin Canyon road. 

In charge of the roads of San Joaquin County in 19 19 are 
the Board of Supervisors, E. E. Tretheway, chairman ; 

[226] 




San Joaquin County's highways are built for safety. 
Subway on Borden Highway protected from seepage by 
concrete walls. 




Middle River bridge on Borden Highway west of Stockton. 



? .*-- < cS *••*. 









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' 



■'*;■: ■m^ 




I 






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San Joaquin County 

James Y. Coates, George M. French, J. W. Stuckenbruck, 
and James T. Ansbro, the county engineer, F. E. Quail, 
being executive officer, and his assistant, W. B. Hogan ; and 
having started out with oil-macadam roads these men are 
building more, disregarding the example of practically all the 
other counties of California and maintaining stoutly their 
belief in and adherence to the type of road they have put in, 
exercising careful maintenance and having in the main a 
creditable system of paved highways. 

To definitely bring the public into their confidence, in the 
fall of 1 91 9 the Board of Supervisors appointed an Advisory 
Board made up of Burton A.Towne, B. S. Crittenden, D. W. 
Miller, Hilliard E. Welch, Edward Powers, and J. M. Bigger, 
representing every section of the county and with this com- 
mittee to help is planning toward the extension of the already 
comprehensive system of roads. 

In their road-building endeavors they are amply supported 
by the San Joaquin County Chamber of Commerce, which is 
especially interested in the development of the Borden High- 
way and has gone on record as favoring its immediate 
completion. This organization with directors and officers 
for 1 91 9 made up of Karl C. Brueck, president; Willard E. 
Shepherd, first vice-president; H. E. Tharsing, second vice- 
president; J. M. Bigger, treasurer; John P. Irish, Jr., 
secretary; M. Davidson, Howard Hammond, Glanville 
Hart, Samuel Kohn, J. M. Kroyer, Charles B. Pearson, 
J. W. Pearce, L. H. Roberts, H. E. Threefall, and Captain 
Benjamin Waters is further interested in the develop- 
ment of the county system with the eventual plan in mind 
of making the beauty spots o£ the Sierras to the east 
as far as possible tributary to Stockton by the construction 
of paved roads. Into this section a State Highway lateral 
already leads from Woodridge to San Andreas, the country 
of Mark Twain's jumping frog, where are the Calaveras Big 
Trees, and with this state road to encourage them they are 
going ahead each year in that road development which in 
1 9 19 is so much a part of our California life. 

[227] 



CHAPTER XXXVI 

SAN MATEO COUNTY 

San Mateo County," to quote a report of the California 
State Board of Agriculture, "is that part of the San 
Francisco peninsula lying between San Francisco County on 
the north and Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties on the 
south. It is divided lengthwise by the Santa Morena ridge 
of mountains, which forms the backbone of the peninsula. 
This mountain ridge is the fertile and picturesque watershed 
of a region peculiarly adapted for homes of beauty and com- 
fort on its eastern slope. Along the shore of San Francisco 
Bay. are many miles of deep water reached by spur tracks 
from the main line of the Southern Pacific Railway and 
offering vast possibilities to manufacturers who desire cheap 
sites with excellent shipping facilities, some of the largest 
plants on the Coast being located at South San Francisco 
and Redwood City. 

"On the west the descent to the Pacific is quick and abrupt, 
into a region occupied by farmers, dairymen, stock raisers, 
and lumbermen. The whole ridge is everywhere accessible 
and all more or less covered with oak and redwood. 

"San Mateo County is the home of the artichoke and 
Brussels sprouts, the rolling hill country of its western shore 
showing thousands of acres under cultivation for these vege- 
tables, the market for which extends from the Pacific to the 
Atlantic. All sorts of vegetables thrive in San Mateo County, 
the northern end seemingly being particularly adapted for 
their cultivation. The cultivation of flowers, also, both in 
the open and under glass, is a large and profitable industry. 
Seventy-five per cent of the flowers sold in San Francisco's 
world-famed street marts are produced in San Mateo County. 

[228] 




Stone wall and guard rail on Half Moon Bay Road. 



■ ' ' 




Road along summit of San Pedro Mountains. 







■5 



a 



San Mateo County 

The violet beds of San Mateo, some of which are acres in 
extent, have long been a lure for tourists. " 

In thus commenting upon the resources of San Mateo 
County, the State Board of Agriculture failed to note that 
the upper part of the county is practically a suburb of San 
Francisco and that here many handsome homes and sub- 
urban estates have been developed by city folk of wealth who 
sought to take advantage of the equable climate and in- 
spiring surroundings. 

Supplementing the advantages touched upon, San Mateo 
County has a splendid system of highways that literally 
teem with automobiles on Sundays and holidays; and to the 
man who is unacquainted with the history of highway im- 
provement in California it might seem that this county, 
above all others, would achieve good roads with a minimum 
of effort. 

Such, however, was not the case, probably because San 
Mateo County pioneered the way in road improvement by 
a capitalization of county credit for all of the counties 
immediately tributary to San Francisco Bay, voting a bond 
issue of $1,250,000 in 1913 after a campaign that is still 
remembered by many as one of the most hard-fought in the 
state. 

Credit for initiating the good-roads movement in San 
Mateo County is undoubtedly due the San Mateo County 
Development Association, which, immediately prior to 1913, 
had for its president Rev. W. A. Brewer, the vice-president 
and chairman of the executive committee being M. B. John- 
son, afterwards elected to represent San Mateo, Santa Clara, 
Santa Cruz and San Benito counties in the California State 
Senate. Co-operating with these men was the following 
Board of Governors: S. D. Merk, W. J. Martin, Terry 
Masterson, Asa Hull, W. H. Brown, D. G. Doubleday, C. M. 
Morse, G. A. Deleau, Dr. C. L. Morgan, J. M. Custer, T. L. 
Hickey, A. J. Green, L. B. Behrens, and H. C. Teuchsen; 
while the Board of Supervisors, made up of J. T. Casey, 
Colma; W. H. Brown, San Mateo; P. H. McEvoy, Menlo 
Park; Jas. M. Francis, Half Moon Bay; and D. E. Black- 

[229] 



[230] 




San Mateo County has a complete highway system built under its bond issue, but none 
the less is building more highways. 




I>3i ] 



From Pescadero to the Santa Cruz County line is not as yet paved but plans for this 
work are being developed. 



California Highways 

burn, Pescadero, when once it found that public sentiment 
was in favor of road improvement did all it could to help. 
The system developed took care of the needs of the county 
both from a commercial and touring standpoint, supplying 
the vegetable gardeners with smooth roads over which to 
haul their produce to market as well as developing a network 
of highways for automobile tourists the man in charge of 
construction being J. V. Neuman, then County Surveyor. 

The most important of these roads, in all probability, was 
that stretch reaching north from San Bruno along the shores 
of San Francisco Bay through South San Francisco to the 
county line. This road supplies an alternative route to the 
State Highway without which a condition of traffic conges- 
tion of such gravity would undoubtedly exist as to warrant 
the declaration that the state road was so overloaded as to 
be actually unsafe. 

Only less important in slight degree than the road last 
named is that stretch of highway trending south from Colma 
along the Pacific to the Santa Cruz County line, the bond 
issue taking care of this road to Pescadero, from which place 
south to the county line the road was improved by direct tax 
under a pledge that formed part of the bonding plan. 

Between this coast road and the State Highway two lateral 
roads were supplied under the bond issue, the northernmost 
of these being known as the Halfmoon Bay road, which 
connected Burlingame, San Mateo, and Belmont by a direct 
road to the coast, and the southernmost reaching from 
Redwood City by La Honda to San Gregorio, both of these 
roads being of great scenic attraction and vast popularity 
with automobile tourists. 

In so far as the coast road is concerned it may be said that 
San Mateo County, under its bonding plan, supplied a link 
in a coast road that will some day reach from Oregon to 
Mexico; for along the ocean shore county after county is 
falling into line and either planning or actually building 
additional shore-line links in those places where the State 
Highway runs inland, two new roads provided for by the 
1919 state bond issue — the Carmel-San Simeon road, in 

[232] 





In La Honda Woods. 



Between San Mateo and Half Moon Bay. 




Coast road near Pescadero. 



On San Gregorio-La Honda Road. 




Bay Shore Road into San Francisco. 




Near Half Moon Bay, showing type of guard rail used 
on bridges. 



San Mateo County 

Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties, and the Oxnard- 
San Juan Capistrano road, through Ventura, Los Angeles, 
and Orange counties — practically completing the coast road 
from San Francisco to the Mexican line; while north of San 
Francisco Bay, Marin County is planning its link in the 
coast highway and Sonoma County has already voted its 
link, leaving only Mendocino and Humboldt counties to do 
their share in order to bring this road, long dreamed of by 
good roads enthusiasts, into actual reality. 

That San Mateo did a good job in road building after 
doing an excellently good job in campaigning is part of Cali- 
fornia's road-building history, the road mileage achieved 
being 150 miles, including the special-tax road from 
Pescadero south, the roads bearing the heaviest travel being 
of concrete construction with the purely touring roads of oil 
macadam, the expense of establishing engineering grades, 
especially along the coast road, being exceptionally heavy. 

In the building of the bonded system an advisory com- 
mittee was named by the Board of Supervisors, which was 
made up of M. B. Johnson, chairman; George Perham, and 
Jesse Robb; and, following the example furnished by them, 
the various San Mateo County Boards of Supervisors have 
continued to extend the system, a stretch of concrete road 
twenty feet wide with one and one-half inches of Topeka 
surfacing reaching into South San Francisco from the State 
Highway illustrating well the ideals toward which they are 
working; and of the 191 9 Board of Supervisors, which is 
composed of John MacBain, chairman; Thos. L. Hickey, 
William H. Brown, Joseph M. Francis, and Dr. C. V. 
Thompson, it may be said that with the advice of the 191 9 
County Surveyor, George Kneese, they are developing and 
have developed the county's road system until today it takes 
in 150 miles and puts San Mateo County in rank with the 
most progressive counties of the state, their endeavors in 
relation to getting the Skyline Boulevard put into the $40,- 
000,000 State Highway bond issue having no little to do 
with its success. 



[133'] 



CHAPTER XXXVII 

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY 

The attitude of the people of Santa Barbara County in 
relation to highway improvement may best be expressed, 
perhaps, by stating that in 1915, in order to supply bridges 
for the State Highway which was then in process of con- 
struction, a bond issue of $350,000 was voted since which 
time additional money has been supplied to the state until, 
in 1 91 9, the total contribution approximates half a million 
dollars. 

In this undertaking Messrs. George M. Williams and F. E. 
Kellogg of Santa Barbara with the late Hugh Kelly of Santa 
Maria were the commissioners appointed to see that a 
proper application of the funds was made, these men working 
in conjunction with the Board of Supervisors of Santa Bar- 
bara County which at the time was made up of C. K. 
Hardenbrook, chairman, of Lompoc; H. J. Doulton, Santa 
Barbara; F. C. Twitchell, Orcutt; H. S. Deaderick, Car- 
pen teria; and A. W. Conover, Goleta. 

The principal State Highway bridges, made possible by 
the funds raised by Santa Barbara County, are the Arroyo 
Quemada bridge, four hundred twenty-five feet long and 
seventy-seven feet in height, costing about $41,000, the 
Arroyo Honda bridge, six hundred twenty-five feet long and 
seventy-five feet high which involved the expenditure of 
$100,000, $40,000 being supplied by the county, and the 
Santa Ynez River bridge, a steel structure with concrete 
floor having seven steel spans of one hundred sixty-two feet 
each with concrete approaches, costing $175,000 of which 
Santa Barbara County supplied $50,000, the cost of Arroyo 
Quemada bridge being borne entirely by the county which 

[234] 




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Santa Barbara County 

also, subject to the approval of the State Highway engineers, 
furnished the plans. 

Not content with the contribution set forth above to the 
State Highway system and perhaps believing that the sooner 
the coast route highway from San Francisco to Santa Bar- 
bara was completed the sooner would Santa Barbara County 
begin to derive material benefits therefrom the people of the 
county, through the Board of Supervisors bought $694,074 
State Highway bonds and resold them at a loss, supplied 
about $100,000 worth of rights of way and fencing and then 
turned to and built twenty- two and one-half miles of as- 
phaltic pavement of the best possible type and presented it 
to the state. With a contribution of money in the amount 
stated serving to emphasize the attitude of the people of this 
county in relation to good roads, it is almost surprising to 
find that a bond election to supply a. county-wide system of 
highways failed to carry in 191 5 by a few votes, but this fact 
did not in the least deter the Board of Supervisors from going 
ahead and doing the best they could with the limited funds 
at their disposal and in the past three years they have man- 
aged to put down seven miles of the best type of concrete 
construction, twenty-four miles of oil macadam and nine 
miles of asphaltic type, a total of forty miles of paved high- 
ways, doing high finance to get a little bit of money here and 
a little bit of money there, resolved at least to make a start. 

In addition to the forty miles of paved roads already laid 
down by the Board of Supervisors an additional twenty-five 
miles of paved road is being planned by Supervisor J. T. 
Torrence around Santa Ynez, Los Olivos and Solvan, while 
in the Carpenteria and Montecito districts Chairman H. S. 
Deaderick is planning to build fifteen miles. Around Santa 
Barbara plans for an extension of the system already put in 
are being forwarded by Supervisor Sam J. Stanwood under 
what is known as the road district improvement act which 
permits the formation of road districts upon petition of the 
people resident therein and the issuance of bonds to build 
permanent highways. Around Lompoc, in the northwestern 
portion of the county, Supervisor J. T. Frick has in develop- 



I> 3 6] 



PTSA 



PURISIMA 



PT. ARGUS, 




PA C/ F / C 



The State Highway through Santa Barbara County from San Luis Obispo County to 
Ventura County is all paved. The highway shown reaching inland from Santa Maria is the 
Cuyama Lateral and is merely surveyed. 




Most of the paved roads built by Santa Barbara County are near Carpinteria, Summer/and, 
Montecito and Santa Barbara and cannot be properly shown on a map of this size. 



California Highways 

ment plans for twenty-eight miles of paved highways while in 
the northern part of the county Mr. C. L. Preisker, super- 
visor in that district, has done some very creditable road 
building between Guadalupe and Santa Maria and. has also 
definite plans looking toward the construction of yet more 
concrete roads. 

The Cuyama road is a highway long dreamed of by the 
people of the northern part of Santa Barbara County which 
connects Santa Maria in Santa Barbara County with the 
already built highway system of Kern County at a point 
near Maricopa, following in a general eastwardly direction 
the windings of the Cuyama River through a country where 
road building is expensive in the extreme, and was included in 
the 1 919 State Highway bond issue mainly through the 
efforts of the Board of Supervisors, the Santa Barbara 
Chamber of Commerce also giving able help through its 
secretary, George Wight. 

In order to carry out the plan the Boards of Supervisors 
of Santa Barbara and Kern Counties have formed a< joint 
highway district and will, with the assistance of the State, 
undertake the development of the Cuyama road as a joint 
enterprise, the highway district formed being officially 
designated as Joint Highway District II. 

In the development of a road plan for Santa Barbara 
County it may be said that the Board of Supervisors is 
governed to a great extent by the fact that this section has 
come to be known as a place where one of the most ideal 
climates in the United States exists. As the result of this 
fact wealthy people from all over the country gather here, 
some of them to escape the rigors of the Eastern winter, 
merely tarrying for a few months, while others have bought 
more or less extensive acreages and built homes costing 
hundreds of thousands of dollars for permanent occupation. 
With a citizenship of this character the building of pleasure 
drives becomes of great importance for so keen is the com- 
petition among the counties of Southern California for that 
winter travel which measures up into millions of dollars each 
year that the county without good roads falls far behind. 

[238] 




Santa Barbara County furnishes a splendid example of 
well planned and consistently carried out highway tree 
planting. 




This stretch of State Highway was paved by Santa 
Barbara County and presented to the State. 



Santa Barbara County 

Following this policy the roads of Santa Barbara County, 
especially around Santa Barbara, Montecito, Carpenteria 
and Goleta have been developed into attractive pleasure 
drives and here one road particularly compares favorably 
with any scenic boulevard in the state. This road, built 
mainly by the city of Santa Barbara, although due in part 
to county aid, climbs up the hills to the north of Santa 
Barbara in ever increasing height until, at the* summit one 
of the most wonderful views to be had in California is dis- 
closed. Spread flat below, far down and seeming like some 
Lilliputian village, is Santa Barbara with its great hotels, 
handsome homes and tree-lined streets while beyond in the 
blue flat of the ocean, San Miguel, Santa Rosa, Santa Cruz 
and Anacapa Islands float a few miles off the coast. To the 
east are Carpenteria and Montecito hid almost in the heavy 
foliage of the trees while to the west the curving shore line 
dims into the distance measured by high bluffs thrusting out 
into the sea. 

That other road problems than those dealing with the 
development of a purely scenic boulevard system confront 
this county may be grasped when it is known that in the 
different valleys, Goleta, Santa Ynez, Buell Flats, Alamo 
Pintado, Los Alamos, Lompoc and Santa Maria an extensive 
road tonnage of soil products is produced and in the future 
road development of the county not only must the scenic 
aspect of the county be considered but also its rapidly 
developing agricultural needs must be met. 



[ 2 39] 



CHAPTER XXXVIII 

SANTA CLARA COUNTY 

Direct-tax road building in this county prior to 191 9 
had supplied 97.30 miles of paved highways, paid for 
as they were built, with no following debt to be taken care 
of, the road-building program of 19 19 providing for twenty 
miles more. 

It may be said that the Board of Supervisors of Santa 
Clara County to a man believe in road building by the 
methods they have pursued, which are made possible by the 
fact that Santa Clara County property owners pay their 
taxes promptly and can raise each year, with little tax 
increase, sufficient funds to build an appreciable mileage of 
expensive roads. 

These men, entitled to mention as a result of their road- 
building accomplishments, are: John Roll, Santa Clara, 
chairman; A. L. Hubbard and Henry M. Ayer, San Jose; 
Henry Hecker, Gilroy; and Frank E. Mitchell, Saratoga. 

Of the roads already built 46.8 miles are of concrete, four 
inches thick, sixteen feet wide, with one-and-one-half-inch 
surfacing of asphaltic concrete, except one and one-half 
miles which has been paved with brick upon a four-inch 
concrete base, this mileage of brick road being the only 
example of such paving put in by any California county so 
far as is known and supplying a type of road building that 
the traffic of years to come will scarcely mar. 

In addition to the concrete road mileage, 50.5 miles of 
heavy oil-macadam construction has been laid down, which 
type of pavement is proving very satisfactory on roads that 
do not bear a volume of traffic made up of heavy units; but 
it may be said that the Santa Clara County Board of Super- 

[240] 












WW?- 




^ 

Q 
£ 

£ 




A neighborhood road of oil macadam in the orchard 
section 




A Santa Clara orchard in bloom. Highway in left 
background. 



Santa Clara County 

visors is convinced that for heavy traffic their constituents, 
or at any rate a large proportion of them, want concrete 
roads, which they are now getting and of which they are to 
have more, as the plans now in contemplation provide for a 
comprehensive system of county highways of absolutely the 
best type; the man charged with the development of this 
system being Irving L. Ryder, county surveyor, who is a 
believer in the concrete road of proper cement mixture to 
form the most stable base with such surface treatment as 
will best withstand the continuing wear of iron-shod traffic. 

In regarding the road needs of Santa Clara County a two- 
fold aspect is presented, the varied crop production supplying 
a huge road tonnage moved each year to market or shipping 
point, 60,000 tons of dried prunes being a fair average which 
goes forth from the beautiful Santa Clara Valley each year 
to breakfast tables all over the world, while about 10,000 
tons of dried apricots are also each year moved over the 
roads. Dried peaches in the amount of approximately 1500 
tons also form part of the annual road burden, as do several 
hundred tons of pears and nuts, while wine and table grapes 
amount to more than 30,000 tons. 

Only slightly less important than the commercial traffic 
which the roads of Santa Clara County bear is that pleasure 
travel which, with the cheapening of the automobile, has 
increased so tremendously of late years. Of this travel 
Santa Clara County invites and secures its full share, which 
is poured in by the State Highway from San Francisco and 
Oakland, two main trunk line highways originating at these 
points converging at San Jose, the commercial center of the 
county, into one main trunk line that reaches the cities and 
valleys to the southward by way of the Coast route. 

Of the pleasure traffic which passes through Santa Clara 
County there is a definite and natural diversion, for many 
points of interest exist made easy of access by county high- 
ways. Principal of these is the famous Lick Observatory, 
the gift of James Lick, one of California's pioneers, whose 
will set aside $700,000 for an observatory to be equipped 
with the finest and most powerful telescope obtainable. 

[241] 



To San Mateo 
San Francisco 



SAN FRANCISCO BAY 



To Nilgy Hayward, tfi. mmm . 




To Santa Quz ▼ V-'^ 
via Glen Mod I 'v-.^- 



HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE 

COUNTY 


SANTA CLARA 

CALIFORNIA 


SCALE 


O 5 10 
MILES 



With the exception of the Sky-line Boulevard and the Pacheco Pass route of the State High- 
way all highways shown are completed. 



ALAMEDA 



COUNTS 



[243] 




'San Juan Hoi listen Sta Cruz, 
Jo {Salinas Monterey, 
' Pacific Grove 



SAH BEN /TO COUNTY 



Map data furnished by' t 
courtesy of Son Jo*e'. 
Chamber , of Commerce. 



All of this highway development in Santa Clara County has taken place by direct tax and by 
use of current road funds, Santa Clara County being the one county in California that has 
developed a comprehensive paved highway system without voting bonds. 



California Highways 

This observatory, perched upon Mount Hamilton only a 
few miles from San Jose, is 4209 feet above sea level, and in 
one of its supporting columns is the tomb of the donor, 
whose bequest, among other conditions, provided that the 
county should build a good road to the mountain's top. 
This has been done and a smooth, wide, though unpaved, 
highway provided which does not exceed six per cent in its 
maximum grade. 

One of the highways now being developed by Santa Clara 
County which promises to equal in importance the Sunny- 
vale-Los Gatos concrete highway is that known as the Bod- 
fish Mill Road, which extends in a general westwardly 
direction from Gilroy, in the lower part of the Santa Clara 
Valley, to the Santa Cruz County line. In the development 
of this road the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is 
operating under agreement with the Santa Cruz County 
Board, which plans, in time, to extend the road to Watson- 
ville, forming a short-cut connection between the important 
towns named as well as supplying the final link in that long- 
dreamed-of Yosemite-to-the-Sea Highway which drops down 
from the Sierras, crosses the San Joaquin Valley, and climbs 
over the famous Pacheco Pass — one of the lateral roads now 
being planned by the State Highway Commission. 

Of the scenic roads of Santa Clara County, that to the 
California State Redwood Park is of national importance, 
reaching into a wonderland of big trees and primeval forest 
popularly known, because of its geological formation, as the 
"Big Basin/' Paved county roads from San Jose, Santa 
Clara, Mountain View, Palo Alto, and Los Gatos center at 
Saratoga, whence, by way of the state road from the summit, 
entrance is had to the park. From Saratoga to Long Bridge, 
a distance of three miles, the Santa Clara County Board of 
Supervisors is now permanently improving this road, three 
important concrete bridges being already installed. 

In the movement for road development in this county the 
San Jose Chamber of Commerce, of which Joseph M. 
Parker, of the Sperry Flour Company, is president and 
Joseph T. Brooks is secretary, has taken an active part. 

U44-] 




I 



-I 



■5* 




J5. 






Santa Clara County 

William S. Clayton, president of the First National Bank of 
San Jose and for years chairman of the Highways Committee 
of the Chamber of Commerce, has also been a consistent 
worker for better county highways. In addition to his in- 
terest in the road plans of Santa Clara County, Mr. Clayton 
has taken an active part in the upbuilding of the State High- 
way and was one of the men instrumental in getting the 
various counties to purchase State Highway bonds with 
funds taken from the county treasury when construction 
work, under the first State Highway bond issue, was at a 
standstill because the bonds could not be sold at par. 

Other men who have participated in the road development 
of Santa Clara County are Dr. W. C. Bailey, City Manager 
of San Jose, and Charles R. Parkinson, E. N. Richmond, 
R. F. Benson, and Howell D. Melvin, all of San Jose; while 
David C. Bell of Saratoga, J. D. Farwell of Los Gatos, and 
S. E. Johnson of Cupertino also have been active. 

These men, believers in the good road as a modern 
economic necessity, have set aside personal interest upon 
every occasion when their services were needed and are 
working with the County Surveyor and the Board of Super- 
visors to give truth to the county slogan which declares that 
every main-traveled road in the county will some day be a 
paved highway. 

Including the State Highway 160.62 miles of paved high- 
way exist in Santa Clara County, there being in addition 
more than 1000 miles of roads not permanently paved but 
well kept up and pleasant for travel. Throughout the 
county the different chambers of commerce and improve- 
ment clubs have participated in road betterment con- 
tinuously, and among its citizens, distinguished for his 
splendid service in the road-building history of the state, 
Santa Clara County is proud to number Charles D. Blaney 
of Saratoga and San Jose, chairman of the California High- 
way Commission in its most trying period, who more than 
made good. 



[245] 



CHAPTER XXXIX 

SANTA CRUZ COUNTY 

Santa Cruz County, situated only about seventy miles 
south from San Francisco, is widely known as one of 
California's most popular playgrounds, offering not only 
ideal stretches of beach for those who prefer sea bathing, 
fishing, and other ocean-shore attractions, but also almost 
innumerable nooks where hundreds of summer homes have 
been built on the slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains. 

With a State Highway lateral reaching into Santa Cruz 
County from San Jose, by way of Saratoga, and the main 
trunk line of the Coast Route only a few miles to the east- 
ward of the county line, access is easy, and a flood of auto- 
mobile touring traffic, increasing each year in volume as the 
highways have been brought into more perfect improvement, 
has poured thousands of visitors into the county during the 
summer season. 

In addition to the touring traffic imposed upon the county 
roads by the two lines of the State Highway, a heavy volume 
of hauling has developed within the county as the result of 
the extension of the apple-growing industry, which centers at 
Watsonville, the packing and shipping point, to which place 
in season thousands of wagonloads of apples are moved from 
the orchards which dot the Pajaro Valley. 

In considering the work of road development in Santa 
Cruz County it is only fair to say that had it not been for the 
entry of the United States into the war the bond issue to 
provide $924,000 for road construction which was tri- 
umphantly passed on June 10, 191 9, would have been voted 
long before, for at no time since its appointment, more than 
two years ago, has the County Highway Commission, made 

[246] 




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Santa Cruz County , 

up of W. S. Moore, chairman, and C. D. Hinkle of Santa 
Cruz and J. B. Milks of Watsonville, faltered in determina- 
tion to provide Santa Cruz County with such a road system 
as it undeniably should have. 

By reference to the accompanying map it will be seen that 
the plan under construction provides one main highway 
which passes practically through the county from southeast 
to northwest, connecting Watsonville, Aptos, Soquel, Santa 
Cruz, Felton, Ben Lomond, Brookdale, and Boulder Creek 
and forming a paved connection at Santa Cruz with the 
State Highway lateral which traces its way over the Santa 
Cruz Mountains from San Jose by the way of Los Gatos, 
thence to the San Benito County line on the east, from which 
point to the Coast Route of the State Highway is only a 
matter of a few miles, which the California Highway Com- 
mission has promised to pave when Santa Cruz County gets 
its own road system in. 

This line of the county highway system, passing through 
both Watsonville, the center of the apple-growing industry, 
and Santa Cruz, the county seat, will undoubtedly for all 
time to come bear the heaviest burden of traffic in the county, 
for not only are apples produced in profusion but also berries 
of different kinds supply no little road burden, while different 
kinds of vegetables, produced in quantity on the rich alluvial 
soil, both around Watsonville and Santa Cruz, are hauled 
over the roads to shipping points or market during a good 
part of the year, the strawberry season, for instance, con- 
tinuing for about eight months; while the dairying industry 
also supplies a definite road tonnage that is growing in 
volume, some of the dairies in the county milking as many as 
three hundred cows. In addition to the fruits, berries, dairy 
products, and vegetables produced, all of which require 
smooth highways to reach market in satisfactory condition, 
the poultry industry, which has been developed into exten- 
sive proportions in the last few years, particularly around 
Santa Cruz, supplies one more, and it may be said an excel- 
lent, reason for paved highways. 

At Boulder Creek, where the county highway system 

[ 2 47] 




LEGEN D 

State Highway 
County Highway 
County Roads 



to &/v 



^rx?£- 



Map data -Fur niched by 

courtesy of Arnold M Baldwin, 
5anta Cru2. 



Santa Cruz County has received liberal treatment from the state, the Scott's Valley highway 
being practically complete while that stretch from Boulder Creek through Redwood Park and 
the Sky-line Boulevard are planned for early construction. From the eastern end of the county 
system the state has promised to build to the coast highway, a matter of three or four miles. 



mm 



[ 2 49] 



HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE 

C O U NTY 

SANTA" CRUZ 

M*S Jan Jose; C A L I FO R N I A 

Oak tend <$> 5an franc/sco 

O 



SCALE 




5 
MILES 






10 






3» *£ 



'gfJDOMj 




To 5a n Joje ' 
via 6//roy 






3AV 



The county system is under construction in the latter part of /p/g with the exception of that 
route shown along the^coast which is to be built by direct tax and out of other supplementary 
funds. This coast road, connecting with an established road put in by San Mateo County , 
which is fairly well paved \ supplies one of the most attractive drives near San Francisco and 
will some day form a link in an all-coast road from the Golden Gate to Mexico in connection 
with the Carmel-San Simeon stretch of the State Highway. 



California Highways 

terminates at its northern and western end, connection is 
made with a line of the State Highway which reaches into 
California Redwood Park, a state reservation popularly- 
known as the Big Basin, and through it to the Santa Clara 
County line, whence a road is being planned to connect with 
the Santa Clara County system at Saratoga. 

Not comprehended in the road plans of Santa Cruz County 
which are under the jurisdiction of the Santa Cruz County 
Highway Commission, but only less important in small 
degree, if at all, are two stretches of road which the Santa 
Cruz County Board of Supervisors has definitely decided to 
improve with pavement of the best and most modern type. 
The most important of these, beyond question, is that 
running up the coast from Santa Cruz and connecting at the 
San Mateo County line with the established road system of 
San Mateo County. In scenic attraction this road, tracing 
its way close up to the breakers which pound the shore, is of 
unusual interest and^no more attractive reach of California's 
rugged coast line is anywhere to be seen than here. This 
road will undoubtedly in the future form a link in a paved 
highway along California's coast from Mexico to Oregon. 

From Watsonville another road is proposed which trends 
east of north connecting with the Santa Clara County road 
system and supplying in comparison with the State Highway 
a short cut into Santa Clara County from Watsonville. 

In the development of these two roads, the Santa Cruz 
County Board of Supervisors, made up of James A. Harvey, 
chairman, and George H. Rostron, both of Santa Cruz; 
N. P. Sinnott, Felton; A. A.* Weymouth, Soquel; and C. B. 
Lewis, Watsonville, is actively interesting itself, even though 
burdened with responsibility for the construction of the 
bonded system, Mr. Harvey especially having worked tire- 
lessly for road betterment throughout the county. 

In addition to the Board of Supervisors and the County 
Highway Commission, which latter body is serving without 
pay, although allowed by law a per diem fee, the Santa Cruz 
County Good Roads Association has worked long and hard 
for road betterment. The officers of this association are: 

[250] 




View from Boulder Creek road looking down upon the tracks of the 
Southern Pacific Railway. 




tw 



1? 



i 






« C 



3& 



Santa Cruz County 

Fred R. Howe, Santa Cruz, president; W. R. Radcliff, 
Watsonville; Mrs. David Kaplansky, Happy Valley; Isaiah 
Hartman, Boulder Creek; Mrs. F. A. Dixon, Santa Cruz, 
vice-presidents; A. A. Morey, Santa Cruz, secretary; and 
O. D. Stoesser, Watsonville, treasurer. 

An advisory committee is also active, consisting of the 
above-named men and women, together with Frank Reanier, 
Capitola; W. T. Jeter, Santa Cruz; F. E. Selleck, Corralitos; 
W. S. Rodgers, Boulder Creek; C. H. Murphy, and Mrs. 
E. L. Clark, Watsonville. 

To conclude this article without touching upon the cam- 
paign which swept the bond issue to success' on June 10, 
191 9, would hardly be appropriate, for such opposition was 
advanced thereto by one of the leading daily papers of the 
county as to bring about a bitter fight. 

In active charge of the campaign for better roads was Fred 
R. Howe, chairman of the Good Roads Association, the 
campaign manager for the Santa Cruz district being B. F. 
Brisac, Jr., while E. H. Haack was chairman of the Watson- 
ville district, where, with John E. Gardner, W. R. Radcliff, 
and O. D. Stoesser, he conducted an admirably planned 
campaign. Helping out also in the movement for better 
roads was the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau, that 
splendid constructive organization established by govern- 
ment, state, and county funds, Farm Adviser H. L. Wash- 
burn holding meetings in every section of the county under 
encouragement of O. W. Fletter, his president. 

Newspapers throughout the county, with the exception 
noted above, did splendid work, the Santa Cruz Sentinel, 
with Duncan McPherson ; the Santa Cruz News, with H. R. 
Judah, Jr., and E. J. Devlin; and the Watsonville Register, 
with J. B. Atkinson, giving strong editorial support. In 
laying out the highway system the engineer in charge was 
R. K. West, who finished up the preliminary work and then 
went to France as Captain in the United States army, his 
place being taken by Lloyd Bowman, now in charge, who is 
engaging himself in building the 39.10 miles of highway pro- 
vided for under the bond issue. 

[251] 



CHAPTER XL 

SOLANO COUNTY 

Solano County, situated midway between San Francisco 
and Sacramento, is one of the leading fruit-growing 
counties in the state, this industry having been started more 
than sixty years ago by pioneers who preferred to engage 
themselves peacefully in agriculture rather than in that 
feverish quest for gold which promised so much and gave so 
little of reward. 

Four distinct fruit sections exist in the county, made 
notable by the volume of production which takes place and 
by the practical certainty of never-failing crops, these being 
the Vaca Valley and Pleasants Valley, where plums, peaches, 
and apricots ripen each year earlier than in almost any other 
section of the state; Suisun Valley, noted for its Bartlett 
pears and cherries; and Green Valley, where early cherries 
and wine grapes have brought in unfailing returns. 

For years the various boards of supervisors charged 
with the administration of county affairs did the best they 
could to meet the road problems presented, until finally, 
realizing that some outside agency could probably afford 
them a solution of the trying situation which confronted 
them, they called upon the United States Bureau of Public 
Roads to detail an engineer to assist and advise them in 
developing a county-wide system of paved highways, this 
application being made in December, 19 17, the Board of 
Supervisors at that time being made up of D. M. Fleming, 
chairman, of Vallejo; H. J. Widenmann, Vallejo; W. B. 
Connelly, Suisun ; Charles E. Claussen, Dixon ; and Thomas 
McCormack, Rio Vista. 

Owing to the fact that the United States Bureau of Public 

[ 2 5 2 ] 







•8. 

"is 




.^0 



Solano County 

Roads was hampered by war conditions no response was 
made to the application until October, 191 8, when one of the 
engineers of the Bureau of Public Roads made an investiga- 
tion and report in which he touches upon county soil produc- 
tion as follows: "Solano County is an important agricultural 
and orchard section of the state and has attained a high state 
of development. It has a land area of about 544,000 acres, of 
which 460,000 are in a state of cultivation for hay, grain, and 
other field crops, about 15,000 acres being in vineyards and 
orchards, the balance of the county's acreage being hilly and 
mountainous or in the undeveloped flooded lands. 

"The agricultural products of 191 8 consisted of 1 10,000 tons 
of barley and 60,000 tons of wheat, while other field and 
forage crops were under cultivation as follows: Oats, 10,- 
000 acres; hay 75,000 acres; beans, 10,000 acres; alfalfa, 
50,000 acres; tomatoes, 2500 acres; and asparagus, 2000 
acres. Of orchard land about 5000 acres are in vineyards, 
while bearing deciduous fruit trees were reported at 1,103,- 
500." 

After thus reviewing the agricultural production of this 
prolific county, the engineer continues: "In the developed 
section of the county smooth roads are essential for the 
economic and quick handling of produce that is highly 
perishable. This applies more particularly to the fruit- 
raising sections, although in other parts of the county good 
roads will distinctly help in development." 

Upon reference to the accompanying map it will be seen 
that a fair mileage of paved highways has already been 
built with other roads proposed, one of the most important 
of these being that which connects the City of Vallejo with 
the State Highway at Cordelia by way of American Canyon, 
supplying direct road access between Vallejo, the largest city 
in the county, where the great Mare Island Navy Yard of the 
Government is situated, and Fairfield, the county seat; the 
highway connection between the places named at the present 
time being indirect and circuitous, imposing no little hard- 
ship upon the people of Vallejo having business at the county 
seat. By the construction of this road, which passes through 

[253 3 



Legend 

State Highway m 
County Highway ■ 
County Roads - 



HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE 

COUNTY 
S O LA N O 

CALIFORNIA 

SCALE 


• - -- 3 "- " * 

MILES 




Solano County is steadily engaged in developing a paved highway system by use of curren 
funds or under one or another of the various road district improvement acts. 



COUNTY 



OJ I K «** 



Sacramento 




C O U N TV 



The proposed State Highway between Rio Vista and Fairfield-Suisun is one of the most 
important of California's Cross State Highways. 



California Highways 

a corner of Napa County, the round-about trip by way of 
Napa Junction or Benicia will be cut in time and distance 
from one-third to one-half. 

Another important road is that from Rio Vista to Suisun, 
which would supply not only a main traffic line between the 
two towns but also would tend to develop an agricultural 
section of the county that is badly in need of roads. At the 
eastern end of this road at Rio Vista, a highway bridge of the 
bascule type has been built at a cost of $200,000, shared 
jointly by Solano and Sacramento counties, which forms a 
short and direct cross-country outlet for travel between 
lower Sacramento and upper San Joaquin Valley points and 
the northern reaches of the California coast. 

To the eastern end of this bridge a paved highway of the 
Sacramento County system is now being built which will, 
when completed, connect with the roads of San Joaquin 
County and thus supply another tie-up between the coast and 
valley routes of the State Highway. So important is this 
road deemed that it has been given place in the $40,000,000 
bond issue provided for by the Legislature of 191 9, and is to 
be built by the State, thus relieving Solano County of one of 
its most trying road problems. 

In passing, it may be said that the inclusion of this road 
in the proposed State Highway bond issue crowns with 
success a long-continued effort on the part of the Solano 
County Board of Supervisors to have it made a state road, 
Supervisor Thomas McCormack of Rio Vista having been 
especially active in bringing the matter to a successful issue. 
In the initiation of the plan to have this road made a part of 
the state's road system, Mr. Henry Widenmann of Vallejo, a 
member of the Solano County Board of Supervisors as well 
as a member of the California Highway Commission, took an 
active part up to the time of his death, which resulted from 
an accidental gun wound received while hunting, his passing 
being a loss not only to Solano County but also to the state. 

From Vacaville, in the beautiful and productive Vaca Val- 
ley, to the Yolo County town of Winters at the Solano 
County line another road of great importance is proposed 

[ 25 6] 







Co S 



-> 







is, 

I 







in 



Solano County 

connecting up with an extension planned by Yolo County 
and running from Winters by way of Madison to Blacks and 
forming an alternative route to the Sacramento Valley trunk 
line of the State Highway, which is not only much shorter 
but also is far more interesting from a scenic standpoint. 

Without attempting to enter into further details relative 
to the road system which is proposed for Solano County, it 
may be said that the road distribution charted upon the 
accompanying map is based in practical entirety upon com- 
mercial need, crop production of varied kinds being so great 
in this county and resulting in so much wealth as to make 
any consideration of purely touring roads a matter of no im- 
portance. 

In so far as actual road building in Solano County is con- 
cerned comparatively little has been done, owing to the lack 
of funds, but here and there throughout the county paved 
roads have been put in a few miles at a time, the State High- 
way type of concrete construction being adopted as best 
fitted in the development of a county-wide plan. By direct 
tax and under one or another of the various road district 
plans approximately twenty-five miles of paved highway, 
mainly concrete, has been put in tributary to Vallejo, Benicia, 
Dixon, Vacaville, Suisun and Fairfield, the amount of 
mileage already built, while comparatively small being an 
illustration of what sheer persistency can accomplish and it 
is certain that the present Board of Supervisors made up 
of W. B. Connelly, C. E. Claussen, Thomas McCormack, 
D. M. Fleming and John R. Thornton, is going to keep the 
good work going along. 



[ 2 57] 



CHAPTER XLI 

SONOMA COUNTY 

In contemplating the road improvement plans of this 
beautiful county, which are based on a bond issue for 
$ i, 640,000 passed on May 24, 191 9, it may not be inapt to 
quote from the report of Senior Highway Engineer W. H. 
Lynch of the United States Bureau of Public Roads, who 
was called in by the Board of Supervisors to advise them as 
to the best method of developing a modern highway system. 

"The road problem of the county, ,, Mr. Lynch states, 
"can best be approached by dividing the county into two 
sections. The greater part of the county, where better 
roads are needed, is highly developed agriculturally and large 
and extremely valuable crops are produced each year. The 
nature of a good portion of the products (eggs, fruit, and 
vegetables) requires a smooth, hard-surfaced road to market 
to prevent undue loss from crushing and also provide cheap 
transportation. This section of the county should be pro- 
vided with adequate roads first in any extensive program of 
road building, and the wearing surface should be of a high 
type, as traffic on the main highways is sufficient in volume 
to warrant the best construction. 

"The part of the county along the Russian River of which 
Guerneville is the center," he continues, "is devoted to 
tourist travel and recreation resorts. It is considered a 
playground for San Francisco, and while not as important 
from a road development standpoint as the agricultural 
section, at the same time the county cannot afford to neglect 
the traffic which is attracted there and brings into the county 
a large revenue." 

In discussing the type of road suitable for the traffic con- 

[ 25 8] 




e> 



11 




On the Sonoma County Coast Road. 




For miles along the coast Sonoma. County is improving 
this highway. 



Sonoma County 

ditions found, Mr. Lynch suggests a "width of roadway of 
at least twenty-four feet, with a surface of concrete where 
the subgrade is of material that can be brought to a firm 
unyielding condition, the concrete to- be of one-two-four 
mix, five inches thick, sixteen feet wide." 

It will be noted that Mr. Lynch recommends a minimum 
thickness of concrete of five inches, and this recommendation, 
made early in 191 8, marks the development of a movement 
for thicker concrete roads in California and constitutes the 
first radical departure by government recommendation 
from the established four-inch-thick standard of the State 
Highway. Following this recommendation practically 
every county in California now contemplating the building 
of concrete highways is basing its plans on pavement at 
least five inches thick, Merced County, which voted bonds 
in November, 1918, being the first to start construction of a 
county-wide system of five-inch concrete highways, although 
Contra Costa County, building by direct tax, has been put- 
ting in five-inch-thick concrete roads for several years. 

Sentiment for better roads in Sonoma County dates back 
to 1 9 14, when a county bond issue was unsuccessfully 
attempted, since which time the Board of Supervisors, made 
up of O. N. Charles, Cazadero, chairman ; J. H. Weise, Glen 
Ellen; H. F. Doss, Petaluma; William Cunningham, Wind- 
sor; and A. D. Goddard, Healdsburg, has built thirty-five 
miles of asphaltic macadam road out of annual county funds 
at a cost of something like $3,500 a mile, not thinking for one 
moment that these roads were permanent but striving to do 
the best they could with limited funds. 

In so far as type of road is concerned it may be said that 
the adopted plan follows closely the recommendation of the 
government engineer, concrete road being specified for those 
thickly settled sections around Petaluma, Santa Rosa, and 
Sebastopol where a heavy traffic exists. This traffic around 
Petaluma consists largely of eggs being hauled to market, 
Petaluma being the egg-producing center of the Pacific 
Coast, although fruits of various kinds, berries, and other 
soil products are produced in considerable quantity. 

[>59] 



[260] 




HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE 

C O U NTV 
S O NOMA 

CALIFORNIA 

SCALE 



The highway shown along the coast is to be surfaced with local materials under the Sonoma 
County bonding plan. This stretch of road, with Marin and Mendocino counties coast road 
development, will form a link in a San Francisco to Oregon coast road. Highways shown are 
under construction in ipip. 




[*6i] 



The main trunk line of the State Highway is to be completed or under contract shortly after 
the end of 1919. The stretch from Sonoma to Santa Rosa, paved in part by the county, forms 
part of the 1919 State Highway bond issue plan as does the paving of link from Napa reaching 
Petaluma Creek popularly known as the Black Point Cut-off. 



California Highways 

Santa Rosa being the county seat has need for a tributary- 
road system for that reason alone, although the agricultural 
production in its vicinity is of great volume, this section in 
the past having been the center of the dry wine industry 
where millions of tons of grapes were crushed each year. In 
addition to wine production the orchards of Sonoma County 
produce a high-grade quality of prune, while apples of 
various kinds are grown in profusion and of a quality which 
has gained them widespread reputation, the seat of this 
particular phase of production being Sebastopol, a few miles 
to the westward of Santa Rosa. 

From Sebastopol, under the county highway system being 
built in 1 91 9, a concrete road reaches into the Russian River 
section of the county at Guerneville, this place being the 
center of that area which Mr. Lynch refers to as a play- 
ground for San Francisco. Here the hillsides are dotted 
with summer homes of city folk, built in the shadows of red- 
woods close to an ever-flowing stream that affords endless 
opportunity for boating and bathing, and near here is the 
famous grove where the members of San Francisco's Bohe- 
mian Club come for a plunge into the age-old forest when 
weary of city life. 

Close to Guerneville also is another grove of huge red- 
woods, owned by the county and known as Armstrong Park. 
Plans for the development of this park into a summer 
camping ground for the public are already under way and 
need only road development to be whipped into some con- 
crete form. 

From a standpoint of touring interest Sonoma County is 
singularly fortunate, having at Sonoma the farthest north 
of the Missions built by the Padres. At Sonoma also the 
Bear Flag was raised in the plaza, which still is flanked by 
buildings of the old adobe Spanish type. Near Geyserville 
steaming geysers serve to attract a volume of traffic each 
year, while along the coast a myriad of outing places are to be 
found, the coast section being supplied with a road under 
the adopted plan which, while not intended to be paved 
will supply a wide, well-graded highway of easy ascents and 

[262] 





: 


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h 

I 

St 

a *. 

a « 
*££ 





On the Russian River. 



Near Healdsburg. 








**m^ 



West of Petaluma. 



Between Santa Rosa and Sonoma. 



Sonoma County 

declines where scarcely a road worth calling such today 
exists. 

In securing the road development which is now in full 
swing in Sonoma County many men have worked untiringly, 
the organization fathering the movement being the Sonoma 
County Taxpayers' Association, of which Frank R. Doyle is 
president and John L. Peters secretary, the board of direc- 
tors being made up of W. M. Rutherford, John R. Denman, 
W. L. Sales, B. B. Henshaw, all of Petaluma; C. A. LeBaron, 
Valley Ford; A. Hendron, Occidental; Charles Humbert, 
Cloverdale; George C. Alexander, Healdsburg; F. A. Ab- 
shire, Geyserville; J. B. Sheppard, Windsor; J. C. Bennett, 
Sebastopol; Robert P. Hiel, Eldridge; E. C. Rand and Frank 
Keith, Santa Rosa. 

Actual road construction is to be under the direct charge 
of the Board of Supervisors, the engineer employed being 
Lloyd Aldrich, who finished up the famous Stanislaus 
County system, and to aid them in the development of a 
creditable system the Board of Supervisors named an 
advisory committee. This committee consists of L. V. 
Korbel, Petaluma; E. D. Seaton, S. W. Baker, and C. O. 
Dunbar, Santa Rosa; James Sewell, Healdsburg; Fred G. 
Duhring, Sonoma; W. N. Hotle, Sebastopol; Ralph Belden, 
Guerneville; Thomas Maclay, Petaluma; and C. L. Sedgley, 
Cloverdale, with other men selected from the board of 
directors of the Taxpayers' League, their duties being purely 
of an advisory nature and their desires being to lighten the 
burden which rests upon the Board of Supervisors of getting 
a dollar's worth of value for every dollar spent, the road 
mileage involved in the bond issue being 182, while of con- 
crete highways five inches thick and sixteen feet wide there 
are 58.4 miles, 35 miles of oil macadam being already built. 

In addition to the road problems of the county the con- 
struction of many bridges is part of the county program, the 
cost of such bridge construction to be provided for by the 
levy of additional taxes and the general plan being to make 
Sonoma County, long a byword and a reproach, one of the 
banner good roads counties of the state. 

[>6 3 ] 



CHAPTER XLII 

STANISLAUS COUNTY 

The highway system of this county, popularly regarded 
as one of the best in the state, consists of one hundred 
thirty-one miles of concrete roads in addition to the State 
Highway of approximately fifty miles. In the main these 
county highways are sixteen feet wide, twelve-foot roadways 
being laid down in some of the more distant sections of the 
county where traffic, heavy in the single unit, is not suffi- 
cient in volume to warrant more expensive roads. 

Around centers of population where the road tonnage is 
heavy the wider pavements are supplied, the minimum 
thickness being four inches, patterning after the State High- 
way, and the plan pursued in constructing these roads in- 
volves leaving them unsurfaced on the theory maintained 
by County Surveyor Annear, the man who built them, that 
the unsurfaced concrete road is the ideal pavement until 
such a time as the need for a carpet treatment of some kind 
shall become apparent, if at all. 

The roads of Stanislaus County are exceptionally smooth 
and easy riding and remarkably free from transverse or 
longitudinal cracks even where the soil is of adobe, expansion 
joints being set in at intervals of thirty feet to take up all 
shift in mass resultant from a variation in the temperature 
which reaches from twenty-eight to one hundred ten degrees 
in the extreme, although the mean temperature of the 
county, according to government readings is from forty- 
eight to eighty-one degrees. 

The most interesting phase of the Stanislaus County road 
system deals, perhaps, with the method employed in 
financing the bond issue which made it possible, and so 

[264] 




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Stanislaus County 

simple was this plan in its conception, and so practical has it 
proven in its application, that it may well be treated at some 
length and recommended to other counties of like assessed 
valuation and similar road mileage needs, as worth while 
considering carefully. 

To one individual, Edgar H. Annear, for many years 
county surveyor, this plan is practically entirely due, and 
the roads of Stanislaus County are a monument to his 
memory, a monument truly in this case, for, entering the 
service of his country as a captain, he was sent to France, and 
there, after a period of intensive training, given a commission 
as major and detailed back to the United States to recruit a 
battalion of sappers and combatant troops but died of 
pneumonia in a military hospital in New Jersey shortly after 
reaching his native land, leaving behind him a record as a 
clean, upstanding man of fine ideals and more than ordinary 
professional accomplishments. 

The Stanislaus County road plan, intended in the main to 
develop a method of getting a road system with little, if any, 
raise in the county tax rate, was made necessary by the fact 
that the development of comprehensive irrigation systems 
had already imposed a charge upon property holders which, 
in many instances, they did not desire to increase, and 
involved an application of the yearly road funds provided 
for by law in taking care of the annual charges incident to a 
bond issue. It came into being after County Surveyor 
Annear had made an extensive study of road traffic as 
compared with the yearly application of road funds. 

This study developed the fact that approximately one 
hundred and twenty-five miles of county road bore the mass of 
travel and required for repair and maintenance about three- 
quarters of the annual county funds, this seventy-five per 
cent amounting in 1916 to $72,171.27, the total road fund 
for this year being $96,228.38 derived from a tax levy of 
forty cents upon the one hundred dollars of assessed valua- 
tion on "outside" property, that is, property outside of the 
limit of incorporated cities, property inside of these munici- 
palities being exempt by law from any road tax. 

[265] 



[266] 



The Stanislaus county high- 
way system is entirely completed 
with the exception of that stretch 
from Westley to the San Joaquin 
County line. This highway con- 
nects with the Merced County 
system near Newman formings 
with the Fresno County system, a 
west side line from Fresno and 
lower San Joaquin Valley points 
to San Francisco. 



LEGEND 

Sta+e Highway 
County Highway 
County Poads 



To Stockton 



To Stockton, 
Sacramento 



Sdn Francisco J f V q !*&■** 




Mop da+Q furnished by 
courtesy of Lloyd Aldrich, 
Highway Engineer. 




[•26 7 ] 



The State Highway through 
Stanislaus County is entirely 
completed with the exception of a 
portion between Oakdale and the 
Tuolumne County line which is 
under contract in the latter part 
0/1919. 



To 

Merced, Fresno, 

ddkersfie/d <3t 

Los Ange/es 



HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE 

COUNTY 

stanTslaus 

CALIFORNIA 

SCALE 



California Highways 

When he had developed these facts Mr. Annear went 
before the Board of Supervisors, that body of men charged 
with responsibility for county affairs, and explained to them 
that in his opinion some very practical plan for a permanent 
road system might be worked out. 

The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors of 191 9, 
made up of Vaughn D. Whitmore of Ceres, chairman ; J. H. 
Clarke of Oakdale; C. R. Little and E. A. Johnson of 
Modesto; and Frank R. Raines of Westley, is the same in 
identity as the body before which Mr. Annear appeared 
with his fledgling road plan and it is to their credit that they 
at once got behind him, appointed an advisory committee 
made up of Horace Crane, a retired banker of Turlock; 
R. W. Hobart, president First National Bank of Riverbank; 
Homer Tucker, rancher from the west side of the county; 
George Bentley, real estate man of Oakdale; and Henry 
Garrison, a rancher living near Modesto, and encouraged 
him to develop and submit a detailed report and recom- 
mendation for a good roads bonding plan. 

This plan, when finally presented, recommended a con- 
crete highway system involving 1 26.14 m iles coupled with 
the explanation that the cost thereof would be $1,482,000. 
Four and one-half per cent, thirty-two-year, serial bonds 
were recommended, the declaration being made that the 
average annual expense involved for payment of interest and 
retirement of bonds would be $89,776.12. As opposed to 
this amount, Mr. Annear and the advisory board declared, 
was the sum of $72,171.27 already being spent on the mileage 
involved which left a deficit of only $17,594.85 to be raised 
each year in order to get the roads without increase in tax on 
"outside" property. To meet this deficit under a bonding 
plan the taxes contributed by the different incorporated 
cities of the county, which normally paid no road tax 
although benefiting from the county's roads, would be 
practically sufficient, it was declared, with only a slight 
increase of tax rate inside of municipalities. 

After a thorough review of the facts finally presented, the 
Board of Supervisors approved them and took the formal 

[268] 




Concrete runway from county highway to a ranch garage. 




Dry Creek bridge on Stanislaus County highway system. 




Adobe fill on Modesto-Crows Landing road. 




Roberts Ferry Bridge. 



Stanislaus County 

steps necessary to place the matter before the people at the 
election to be held on November 9, 191 6, and here the 
matter rested, and seemed to drag a bit. 

At this point, Mr. Frank A. Cressey, Jr., of Modesto, a 
man of personal accomplishments and independent means, 
stepped in believing that the plan proposed was a much- 
needed public betterment and inspired to no small degree by 
his admiration of and friendship for Mr. Annear. A cam- 
paign organization was formed under the name of "The 
Stanislaus County Good Roads Association," Mr. Cressey 
being elected president, and an active campaign was begun 
with the result that the measure carried overwhelmingly, 
the two daily papers of the county, the News and the Herald, 
edited by Messrs. E. H. Sherman and T. A. Hocking, res- 
pectively, giving a practical and effective editorial support. 

Bonds were promptly issued and sold, a premium of 
#96,000 being obtained, and Mr. Annear proceeded at once 
to build roads, progress being hampered, as time passed, by 
increased prices of labor and material due to war conditions 
until at length it became necessary to supply approximately 
$30,000 of county funds to complete the job, the final work 
being in charge of Mr. Lloyd Aldrich, who had served with 
Mr. Annear and knew in detail the methods of his work. 

In addition to the bonded system of 126.14 miles, what is 
known as the McHenry road, running north from Modesto, 
four miles in length, supplying a direct connection with the 
Sonora lateral of the State Highway, and a one-mile stretch 
of concrete road north of Newman were built, it might be 
said as object-lesson roads in the period when the bonded 
system was under plan, giving a total county mileage of 
slightly more than one hundred thirty-one miles, which the 
Board of Supervisors plans upon extending to meet the needs 
and wishes of the people, the man in charge of road work in 
1 91 9 being the county surveyor, J. H. Hoskins, who is 
charged with responsibility for maintaining the roads Mr. 
Annear built. 



[269] 



CHAPTER XLIII 

SUTTER COUNTY 

On February 3, 1919, the Sutter County Board of Super- 
visors, made up of George Trevathan, Frank Graves, 
Sam Gray, A. E. Schellenger, and E. J. White, decided that 
the time was ripe for presenting to the people of the county a 
definite plan for road improvement, and thereupon applied 
to the United States Bureau of Public Roads to detail an 
engineer to look over the situation and make such recom- 
mendations as might seem best. 

In taking this action the Board of Supervisors had the 
enthusiastic backing of the Sutter County Farm Bureau, 
which organization had measured county sentiment and 
found it overwhelmingly in favor of road improvement. The 
officers of the Farm Bureau at the time named were R. L. 
Morehead, president; C. E. Moore, vice-president; L. A. 
Walton, E. S. Wadsworth, W. B. Clark, and J. R. Catlett, 
directors at large; the general directorate being composed of 
E. Thayer, C. L. Mosely, C. E. Reische, J. D. Rodolf, G. C. 
Galbraith, Dr. E. S. Moulton, Albert Graves, and Robert 
Shields. These men, all hard-headed business men, had 
watched the expenditures of county road funds for some time 
and, in conjunction with the Board of Supervisors, had come 
to the conclusion that Sutter County, in order to progress 
as it should, must adopt modern road-building ideas. So a 
Government engineer was called in; and what he thought 
about the general situation is made plain by the following 
excerpts from his report: 

"Sutter County," he writes, "is an important agricultural 
and orchard section of California. The orchard sections are, 
more particularly, highly developed and are still susceptible 

[270] 




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Sutter County 

of considerable expansion. The county is composed of three 
distinct areas, each having a different class of development. 
The Sutter Buttes, a range of rugged mountains covering an 
area of about 50,000 acres, is chiefly grazing land and, with 
the exception of the lower slopes which are cultivated, other 
development is absent. 

"The second area of development follows generally the 
ridges of deep soil parallel to the river banks and elevated 
either naturally above the flood line or reclaimed by the 
construction of levees. A third large area of the county, 
known as the Sutter Basin, between the levee of the Sacra- 
mento River and the proposed Sutter by-pass, is as yet 
undeveloped for extensive cultivation. A similar basin, 
known as the American Basin, lies east of the Feather and 
Sacramento rivers in the southerly part of the county. This 
section has been reclaimed and the development is pro- 
gressing rapidly. With the exception of the Sutter Basin, 
practically the entire area of the county is already susceptible 
of cultivation. Of orchards there are 13,768 acres and of 
vineyards 8,610 acres, producing about 68,000 tons of fruit, 
a great part of which is marketed fresh and requires surfaced 
roads for economical and safe hauling to shipping points. 

"Under field crops there are annually about 150,000 acres, 
chiefly in barley, wheat, oats, rice, and beans, producing from 
200,000 to 300,000 tons annually, all of which has to be 
moved over the highways longer or shorter distances to either 
rail or water transportation. Alfalfa is grown on nearly 
8,000 acres, producing an aggregate of about 60,000 tons. 

"With the exception of Yuba City, the county seat, there 
are no other municipalities in the county, and the population 
and farm residences are fairly distributed along existing 
highways, except in the areas subject to overflow, the orchard 
section in general being in small holdings occupied by the 
owners. 

"The road traffic, while light during many months, is 
exceedingly heavy during the harvest season. There are a 
number of smaller towns which are to some extent the trading 
centers of surrounding areas. The principal of these are Live 

[271 ] 



[272] 



The roads shown in broken lines are those 
which are to be built by direct tax under a pledge 
made when bonds were voted. To get more road 
money it is planned to raise the assessed value 
of the County so another bond issue can%be 
voted. 




TO 


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[273] 



'The most highly developed area of Sutter 
County lies along the Feather River, hence most 
oj the road plan voted under the bond issue is in 
this section of the county. 

From Riego south is only a few miles to a 
Sacramento County highway, while a proposed 
extension south from Verona, on the Sacra- 
mento river will supply another route to Sacra- 
mento, part of which, in Sacramento County, 
has already been paved by the Natomas Com- 
pany of California. 



California Highways 

Oak, Meridian, Nicolaus, and Sutter City. There is only 
one permanently constructed road in the county and that is 
the State Highway, built as a concrete road, which extends 
from Yuba City northerly and runs parallel to the Southern 
Pacific Railroad/' 

The above report may properly be regarded as a fair and 
conservative statement of existing facts, and was followed 
by a detailed recommendation for a bonding plan which, it 
may be said, the good-roads enthusiasts of Sutter County 
accepted gladly and used in a more comprehensive scheme 
of road improvement than the conservatism of the Govern- 
ment engineer permitted him to recommend, he confining 
himself to the bonding capacity of the county as he found it 
and limiting his recommendations thereto. 

The Farm Bureau, however, in conjunction with the Board 
of Supervisors, proceeded first to raise the county assessment 
roll about twenty per cent, gaining a greater bonding ca- 
pacity thereby; and then, in addition to planning for certain 
roads under a bond issue, decided that they would build 
additional needed roads by direct tax, resolved that when 
they undertook to improve their county highways they 
would do a good job or none at all. The type of road to be 
put in is concrete, there being 87.50 miles planned under the 
bond issue and by direct tax. 

Reference to the accompanying map will show the bonded 
roads that are planned as well as those provided for under 
direct tax, the road problems of the county being somewhat 
lightened by the fact that the State Highway bond issue for 
$40,000,000 voted on July 1, 191 9, provided for a cross- 
county road between Yuba City and Meridian, taking care 
of one of the heaviest-traveled roads in the county and 
throwing the burden thereof upon the state. 

It will be seen that the main road distribution under the 
county bond issue was in the eastern part of the county, this 
section being highly developed and the major part of the 
county's road burden originating therein. Over this section, 
its production of fruit, and the development of its orchards 
one not a Government engineer might be induced to enthuse, 

[ 2 74] 




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Sutter County 

for upon all sides are orchards producing peaches and prunes 
in such crop abundance as to make the net returns per acre 
almost sound like a fairy tale. 

It may be said of Sutter County without hurting anybody's 
feelings, now that the people of the county have voted a 
good-roads bond issue by more than twenty to one at a 
campaign expense of only about $150, that prior to 191 9 it 
was one of the most backward counties in the state in so far 
as road development was concerned. There wasn't a single 
county road that might by any stretch of the imagination 
be regarded as of modern type while on all sides were vacant 
acreages that save for the lack of road improvement would 
have been turned into prolific orchards of different kinds. 
As a matter of fact, this county has been a sort of Cinderella, 
inconspicuous on account of ragged roads, while of sterling 
worth, with land prices so low in comparison with other 
sections as to be almost ridiculous. 

That a campaign was needed to carry the road plan 
through, any good-roads enthusiast well knows; and this 
campaign, conducted by the Farm Bureau, County Farm 
Adviser C. E. Sullivan being actively in charge, was crowned 
with success on August 28, when $810,000 of bonds were 
voted and Sutter County for once and all emerged from mud, 
only 53 votes in the entire county being recorded as opposed 
to the bonding plan. 

In the work of building the road system planned, which in 
the main provides for asphaltic type of roads, County Sur- 
veyor Edward von Geldern is to be the man in charge, under 
the Board of Supervisors, while to assist them the board has 
named an advisory committee made up of R. L. Morehead, 
Loyd Wilbur, A. T. Spencer, J. M. Hampton, and Sam 
McKeehan, all of the men named being resolved that their 
efforts will not end until Sutter County compares with the 
other good-roads counties of the state. 



[ 2 75] 



CHAPTER XLIV 

TULARE COUNTY 

This county, with an area of 4935 square miles, is one of 
the larger counties of California, and hence its road 
problems for years have been of sufficient size to afford the 
different Boards of Supervisors much food for thought. In 
topography the county is about evenly divided, practically 
one-half being on the western slope of the Sierras and the 
foothills leading thereto, the remainder being valley land of 
an alluvial character which has been developed until a 
tremendous crop tonnage of varied kind today exists and 
aside from emphasizing the need of good roads, proves that 
the men who planned and developed the campaign for road 
improvement which culminated in March, 1917, in the 
passing of a bond issue for $2,200,000.00, knew pretty well 
what they were about. 

These men were J. H. Newman, F. M. Pfrimmer, J. N. 
Birkhead, J. N. Young, and Fay Singleton, members of the 
then Board of Supervisors, and to help carry out the plans the 
Tulare County Good Roads Association was formed which 
took active charge of the campaign through a committee of 
twenty-one representative citizens headed by A. W. Quinn of 
Exeter, president, and Richard E. Stark of Visalia, secretary. 

The highway plan adopted called for two hundred twenty 
miles of concrete highways fifteen and sixteen feet wide and 
five inches thick, to be surfaced with a carpet of asphalt type 
two inches in thickness; and as soon almost as the citizens of 
Tulare County voted in favor of the bonds, road building 
began, the result being that in December, 191 8, less than 
twenty months after the bond issue was voted, one hundred 
ninety-seven and one-half miles of concrete roads had been 

[276] 




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built and opened to traffic, a road-building record which, in 
view of the fact that it was accomplished in a troublous war 
period, will stand for some time. 

In charge of road construction was the County Board of 
Supervisors and Byron O. Lovelace, county surveyor and 
road engineer, and the system they together developed has 
established a satisfactory reputation for Tulare County in 
respect to its highways, the surfacing, two inches in thick- 
ness, being what is known as Warrenite, superior to most 
carpet treatments in that it is non-skid in any kind of weather 
and safe to travel over in addition to contributing to easy 
riding. Seventy miles of the main boulevard north and 
south through the county has been, so far, thus surfaced. 

On January i, 1919, Mr. Singleton was succeeded to the 
Board of Supervisors by J. K. Macomber and County Sur- 
veyor Lovelace by Laurence Moye. Owing to war time 
construction cost the bond issue proved inadequate to com- 
plete the system so the supervisors, after consulting the 
people of the county, levied a special road tax of $1.50 on 
the $100 of assessed valuation, which sum will provide for 
the completion of the system originally planned. 

In so far as the commercial need for a modern road system 
in Tulare County is concerned it may be said that in the 
citrus section of the county, along the foothills which slope 
down from the Sierras and take in, from south to north, 
Richgrove, Terra Bella, Ducor, Piano, Porterville, Spring- 
ville, Strathmore, Lindsay, Exeter, Merryman, Lemon Cove, 
Three Rivers, Naranjo, Woodlake, Klink, Orosi, Sultana, 
Dinuba and Orange Grove, over ten thousand cars of oranges 
are grown, hauled over county highways, and shipped each 
year from one to two months earlier than the oranges in the 
well-advertised Southern California orange-shipping districts. 

In addition to the citrus-fruit production peaches, prunes, 
pears, apricots, apples, olives, figs, plums, almonds, walnuts, 
table grapes and pomegranates are grown, while wheat and 
barley are produced in quantity as well as alfalfa, which with 
different forage crops, supply no inconsiderable burden for 
Tulare County's highways. 

[277] 



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'Tulare County has the greatest mileage of concrete highways of any county in California. 
They are still being extended. 



C O U N T v 












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HIGHWAY MAP 
OF THE 

COUNTY 
TULARE 

CALIFORNIA 

SCALE 



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This section of the Tulare County map serves to show the mountainous character of the 
County. Mount Whitney is the highest peak in the United States proper. 



California Highways 

Connecting Dinuba on the north with Richgrove on the 
south, the highways put in penetrate that section of the 
county where the mass of citrus production takes place and 
where much heavy hauling from ranch to railroad exists 
One stretch of Tulare County paved road lies west of the 
State Highway, that reaching from Tulare to Waukena near 
lulare Lake on the Kings County line, supplying a connec- 
tion with the latter county's paved-road system. The state 
and county north and south main lines are united, east and 
west across the county, at four points: Kingsburg to Dinuba- 
Visalia to Three Rivers; Tulare to Lindsay; Pixley to Por- 
terville via Poplar and Woodville ; and join with the Kern 
County system from Delano to Richgrove. 

That Tulare County is proud of its road system is evi- 
denced by the fact that at every entrance to the county, huge 
signboards are placed emphasizing the fact that Tulare is a 
county of good roads, this advertising being done by the 
Tulare Board of Trade, the officers of which are J. Sub 
Johnson, president; T. W. Velie, vice-president, and A. E 
Miot, secretary and manager; and to further emphasize the 
fact the people of the county united in getting the appoint- 
ment of a citizen of their county as a member of the Cali- 
fornia Highway Commission, in charge of the state road 
system. 

m With an agricultural production of such character as to 
justify them m bonding their county for more than $ 2,000,000 
worth of good roads, commercial need being in the last 
analysis the main justification for road-bonding enterprises, 
the people of Tulare County did not for one moment overlook 
the possibility of securing a share of that touring traffic which 
has grown and is growing so remarkably in volume each year 
m California. 

With one of the state's greatest wonders in their county, 
almost at the outskirts of the thriving towns along the lower 
slopes of the foothills, the Board of Supervisors built a paved 
highway almost up to the border of Sequoia National Park, 
in the mam through the canyon of the Kaweah River, the 
plan adopted by the proponents of the 1919 State Highway 

[280] 




Paved road up the canyon of the Kaweah River, built by 
Tulare County and taken over by state. 




The i <) 1 9 State Highway bond issue provides for a con- 
nection between Tulare County 's roads and Sequoia 
National Park, entrance to which is shown. 




c3 






8* 






Tulare County 

bond issue being to take over the county highway and com- 
plete it to the park. 

Sequoia Park, it may be said, is a National Park which 
comprises within its boundaries an area of two hundred fifty- 
two square miles, in which are twelve groves of Big Trees, 
Sequoia gigantea, the true "big tree" of California, there 
being more than twelve thousand of these trees in the park 
exceeding ten feet in diameter, the General Sherman tree, 
the largest in the world, being thirty-six and one-half feet 
in diameter. 

Six miles to the north and west of this park is General 
Grant Park, which, while containing only four square miles 
holds the General Grant Tree, thirty-five feet in diameter 
and second only to the General Sherman Tree in size. This 
park, to be connected with the road system of Fresno County 
by the state, is also reached by the Tulare County system, 
this road not being as yet paved. But with the extension of 
the county highway system it will no doubt be made tribu- 
tary to the present developed system, while the Director of 
National Parks has made the construction of a highway be- 
tween Grant and Sequoia parks one of his two chief recom- 
mendations in his 1 919 report. 

With Mount Whitney, 14,502 feet in height, the loftiest 
peak in the United States proper, on the border line between 
Tulare and Inyo counties, it may be grasped that in Tulare 
County are some of the higher reaches of the Sierras ; and in 
them are a thousand different places attractive to the lover 
of out-of-doors. To open up this area and to harvest thereby 
that annual and never-failing crop of dollars left by tourists 
which has so long been garnered by Southern California is 
part of Tulare County's future road building plan, and in 
the meantime the Board of Supervisors has delegated to 
the Tulare County Board of Trade the duty of advertising 
the county's highways and resources, supplying funds there- 
for. 



[281] 



CHAPTER XLV 

YOLO COUNTY 

For years Yolo County was known as one of California's 
good-roads counties, the various boards of supervisors 
building excellent macadam or gravel roads which served 
slow-moving, horse-drawn traffic comfortably without undue 
expense of maintenance. 

With the development of motor-driven vehicles, however, 
these roads blew away about as fast as they were built and 
repaired, and so, in 19 17, it became a foregone conclusion 
that some plan must be adopted for the building of a modern 
highway system and the Board of Supervisors called upon 
the United States Bureau of Public Roads for help. 

In response to this call a government road-building en- 
gineer was detailed to co-operate with the Yolo County 
board in its plan for highway betterment, and this individual 
needed but a glimpse at the crop production of the county to 
convince him that a modern highway system was needed. 
This report, which is interesting, says: "Yolo County is an 
important agricultural and orchard section of California and 
has, in part at least, attained a high state of development. 
The county has an area of about 640,000 acres, of which 
595,317 acres are assessed for taxation, the unassessed area 
being government land and land not considered of sufficient 
value for assessment. Under cultivation and bearing crops, 
according to a survey of the farm adviser and horticultural 
commissioner, are about 300,000 acres each year, to which 
should be added another 100,000 acres alternately left fallow 
and employed in raising grain, making a total of 400,000 
acres under cultivation. 

"The remaining 200,000 acres are mountain land and over- 

[282] 











■Hi 



Yolo County 

flow land largely employed for the pasturage of stock. A 
great deal of the overflow land is gradually being brought 
under cultivation by the building of levees under the reclama- 
tion district plan and when so cultivated yields prolific crops. 
In the year 1917, the last time a complete agricultural census 
was taken, the distribution of the cultivated area was as 
follows: 131,885 acres barley, 19,696 acres wheat, 2,744 
acres other grains, 38,105 acres alfalfa, 34,557 acres beans, 
21,593 acres rice, 3586 acres vegetables, 2373 acres mis- 
cellaneous crops (hops, tobacco, cotton, etc.), and 20,255 
acres in orchards, the crop value being given as $30,000,000/ ' 

With a production such as described it is not necessary to 
emphasize the fact that a crying need for modern highways 
existed in Yolo County, the State Highway which traverses 
the county in a generally northwardly and southwardly 
direction supplying a comparison which, to use a good old 
non-copyrighted phrase, was odious. 

The road system adopted for improvement is shown upon 
the accompanying map, and it may be seen that every town 
in the county is connected with every other town, all being 
tied up to the State Highway and thus connected with the 
vast and ever-growing system of state and county roads, one 
link in the county system extending from Woodland through 
Madison and Esparto to Rumsey supplying a connection 
with a highway provided for by the 191 9 State Highway bond 
issue and reaching from Rumsey to Lower Lake, in Lake 
County, traversing the canyon of Cache Creek, and forming 
a connection at Lower Lake with another 1919 State High- 
way road which connects Lower Lake with the Napa County 
highway system. This road is important in that it traverses 
the Capay Valley, where many well-developed orchards 
produce a big road tonnage, as well as supplies access to the 
many resorts of Lake County which have for years been 
served by roads that were little short of impassable because 
of ruts and dust. 

Forming a direct connection between the Valley and the 
Coast trunk lines of the State Highway by way of a county 
road between Lower Lake and Lakeport, in Lake County, 

[283] 




S °Z A MO 



HIGHWAY MAP 

OF THE 

COUNTY 

YOLO 

CALIFORNIA 



r s= r 



SCALE 



T 



LEGEND 

State Highway ■* 
County Highway — 
County Roads — 



Yolo County will have a big mileage of paved road completed in 1920. 



COUNTY 




MEN70 



The highway east from Woodland when constructed will be an entirely new road. 



California Highways 

i 

and reaching into that region which writers of "boost" 
literature joy in describing as the "Switzerland of America," 
as if California wasn't good enough, the Woodland-Rumsey 
stretch of the Yolo County road system is destined to bear a 
heavy volume of through traffic, serving the commercial 
needs of the county as well as supplying an attractive touring 
trip, the scenery in Capay Valley and up Cache Creek being 
thoroughly worth while. 

Equally important as supplying a much-needed addition 
to the state's system of roads while at the same time trav- 
ersing a highly developed agricultural area is the Woodland- 
Knights Landing link of the Yolo County system. This road, 
with the development of a road across Sutter County already 
being planned by the Sutter County Board of Supervisors 
in conjunction with the men engaged in the Sutter Basin 
reclamation project, commonly known as the Armour project, 
will supply a short-cut connection between points on the 
east side of the Sacramento Valley in its upper reaches, 
tapping the east side State Highway at Yuba City, just 
across the Feather River from Marysville, and connecting 
with the west side State Highway at Woodland, cutting out 
miles of distance and depriving Marysville and Sacramento 
of no little through travel. 

From Winters to Blacks also is a stretch of the proposed 
county system which will serve as a short-cut connection 
between State Highway points upon the construction of a 
road between Winters and Vacaville which the Solano 
County Board of Supervisors now has under plan. This road 
will shorten the distance between upper and lower valley 
points on the State Highway materially and also, it is to be 
presumed to the grief of Woodland, divert quite a bit of 
through traffic from that enterprising town. 

From Elkhorn through Riverbank, Washington, West 
Sacramento to Clarksburg is one of the important stretches 
of county highway, following the bank of the Sacramento 
River in the main, supplying districts that now have no roads 
worthy the name with real highways, and traversing the 
town of Washington, which as the result of a natural overflow 

[286] 




Type of concrete trestle built by Yolo County Board of 
Supervisors and County Engineer. 









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7^/j structure and the one shown above were built by 
county forces and cost much less than the lowest con- 
tractor s bid. 




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Yolo County 

from Sacramento is already assuming commercial and 
manufacturing importance and is undeniably destined for 
much greater development. 

In the development of Yolo County's road plans, which 
culminated on August 26, 191 9, by a bond issue for $ 1,000,000, 
the Yolo County Board of Supervisors took an active and 
leading part, this board being made up of M. H. Stitt, chair- 
man; W. J. Leinberger, W. O. Russell, F. B. Edson, and J. S. 
Scott. In active charge of the campaign was the Yolo Board 
of Trade, an organization supported and fostered by the 
Board of Supervisors for county development purposes 
which, in 1919, was made up of H. H. Gable, R. L. Neman, 
W. W. Hopper, W. H. Gregory, and Harold Van Tassel, the 
last named being president, while the man actually respon- 
sible was the secretary, Fred Shaffer. 

Following the passing of the bond issue the Board of Super- 
visors, under what is known as the Ream bill, appointed the 
county surveyor, A. G. Procter, as county engineer and 
placed in his hands all county road work, that originating 
under annual county funds as well as the bond issue system, 
this county following the lead of Sonoma County in taking 
advantage of the Ream bill and being fortunate in having a 
man already in office who had, as commented upon by the 
engineer of the Bureau of Public Roads, proven the efficiency 
of county methods by building for $25,000 a concrete girder 
bridge two hundred fifty-four feet long over Cache Creek, 
upon which the lowest contractor's bid figured $45,000. 

The road system planned for Yolo County and to be built 
by the Board of Supervisors and their county engineer is to 
be seventy-five miles in length, of concrete, sixteen feet in 
widjth, five inches in thickenss, and reinforced where needed, 
the general plan being to supplement the bond funds with 
money raised by direct tax or out of the annual road moneys 
relieved from use by the passing of the bonds ; and the present 
plan, regarded merely as a foundation for future road de- 
velopment, once more places Yolo County in alignment with 
the good-roads counties of the state and well up among the 
leaders at that. 

[287] 



CHAPTER XLVI 

CONCLUSION 

Aside from the counties described in the foregoing 
chapters Ventura County has put in a comprehensive 
highway system, one of the best in the State, while Imperial 
County and San Diego County have voted bonds, the 
necessity of going to press early in December of 1919 pro- 
hibiting consideration of their plans. 

In addition to these counties San Luis Obispo County and 
Butte County have bonding plans well under way which will 
be voted upon before this volume is off the press. Colusa 
and Marin also are planning bond issues for the early part 
of 1920. 

These county developments as well as State Highway ex- 
tensions will be treated upon in subsequent editions, the 
general publication plan involving a revision of this volume 
at least once each year. 

This book has been a difficult undertaking. The material 
therefor — gathered from many and often times obscure sources 
— has required much time in compilation. It is admittedly 
far from perfect even in spite of careful and painstaking work. 
Yet it supplies in one volume information as to the extent and 
scope of California's highways, tells how the good-roads 
movement started and pictures the progress of a quarter of 
a century that had birth when a few old time enthusiasts 
with sage-like gravity discussed the possibilities of the bi- 
cycle (the old time high wheeled bicycle at that!) which en- 
abled a man to travel "in comfort/ ' 40 miles a day. From 
that day to the present, when legislation is required to keep 
the jitney aeroplane from alighting upon public highways, 
is a far, far step. 

[288] 



INDEX 



Abbott, Harvey, 181. 

Abel, Stanley, 154. 

Abshire, C. L., 154. 

Abuse of Highway, 48. 

Act, Bureau of Highways, 12. 

Act, State Highway, 27. 

Adams, C. L., 245. 

Advisory Board: Automobile Club 
of Southern California, 52; De- 
partment of Engineering, 18, 28; 
Resolutions of, 28, 29. 

Advisory Boards, County: Fresno, 
148; Merced, 175; San Joaquin, 
227; San Mateo, 233; Sonoma, 
263; Stanislaus, 268; Sutter, 

2 75- 
Agey, Ralph, 154. 

Agriculture, State Board of, 127, 
156, 228. 

Ahern, David, 254. 

Alameda, 132, 133. 

Alameda County, 132-137; Board 
of Supervisors of, 132; Bond Is- 
sue, 126; Map of, 134, 135; Road 
Mileage of, 127. 

Alamo Pintado, 239. 

Alcatraz Island, 133. 

Aldrich, Lloyd, 263, 269. 

Alexander, C. N., 145; Frank, 79; 
F. L., 190; George C., 263; Jules, 

9- 
Allen, Crombie, 8. 



Alpine County, 23; Road Mileage, 

127. 
Alpine Junction, 107. 
Alpine State Road, 22, 23. 
Altamont Pass, 101. 
Alto, 116. 

Alturas, no; Lateral, 69. 
Alturas to Cedarville Road, 26. 
Alvord, C. S., 209. 
Amador County, 23; Lateral, 112; 

Road Mileage, 127. 
American Automobile Association, 

American River, 209. 
Anacapa Island, 239. 
Anderson, Harvey, 148. 
Anderson Valley, 115. 
Angel Island, 133. 
Angelus National Forest, 118. 
Annear, E. H., 264, 265, 268. 
Ansbro, J. T., 227; Martin, 10. 
Antelope Valley, 117, 118, 166. 
Appointment of Highway Commis- 
sion, 30; of Highway Engineer, 

3°- 
Aptos, 247. 

Arbuckle, "Fatty," 122, 123. 
Arch Beach, 196. 
Armes, George A., 137. 
Armstrong, Charles, 190; E. L., 

190. 
Armstrong Park, 260. 
Arno, 112. 
Arnold, Ralph R., 137. 



[289] 



California Highways 



Arroyo Honda, 2,34. 

Arroyo Quemado, 234. 

Arroyo Seco, 25, 118, 167. 

Arsenal, U. S., 102. 

Ashe, W. L., 118. 

Asphalt, 129. 

Atkinson, J. B., 251. 

Auburn, 105. 

Auburn-Emigrant Gap State Road, 
22. 

Automobile Association, California 
State, 5, 6, 9, 50, 51, 120-131. 

Automobile Club of Southern Cali- 
fornia, 6, 7, 9, 51, 52, 167. 

Avis, Charles R., 137. 

Azusa, 118. 



B 



Baade, H. J., Jr., 187. 

Baker, Fred L., 9, 52; J. Rio, 139; 

S. W., 263. 
Bakersfield, 25, 85, 87, 88, 101. 
Balaam, C. F., 281. 
Balboa Beach, 196. 
Balentine, W. S., 52. 
Ball, E. P., 187. 
Ballinger, J. F., 139. 
Bankhead Bill, 30. 
Banking of Curves, 38. 
Barcroft, Frank R., 175. 
Barker, Henry, 7. 
Barlow, C. A., 10, 154. 
Barr, William, 168. 
Barstow, in, 155, 211, 214; 

to Mojave Road, 155; 

to Needles Road, 211, 214. 

Basford, H. R., 50. 

Bean, Jack, 167. 

Bear Creek, 105. 

Bear Flag, 102, 260. 

Bedford, T. A., 45, 65, 66, 6y, 75. 

Beer, Captain Lucien, 154. 

Behrens,L. B., 229. 



Belcher, F. J. Jr., 10, 52. 

Belden, Ralph, 263. 

Bell, David C, 245. 

Bell Springs Grade, 60, 61, 62, 63. 

Bellarie, Edward, 190. * 

Belmont, 232. 

Ben Lomond, 247. 

Benchley, W. L., 10, 52. 

Bender, R. H., 140. 

Benicia, 102, 104; 

Martinez Ferry, 136, 138. 

Bennett, Charles F., 151; J. C, 
263. 

Benson, F. H., 8. 

Bentley, George, 268. 

Berkeley, 132. 

Hills, 133, 138. 

Bernstein, W., 160. 

Berryessa Valley, 191. 

Bicycle, Influence of, 15. 

Biddle, John D., 160. 

Biennial Report, California High- 
way Commission, 4. 

Big Basin, 114, 115, 245, 250. 

Big Oak Flat Road, 21, 24, 114. 

Bigger, J. M., 227. 

Biggs, 115. 

Bill, A. W., 187. 

Bills, Charles B., 10, 51, 105. 

Birkhead, J. N., 265. 

Black Butte, 67. 

Black Point Cut-ofF, 18, 79, 102. 

Blackburn, D. E., 229, 232. 

Blackman, Dale, 187. 

Blacks, 286. 

Blaney, Charles D., 9, 28, 29, 32, 

S5> 5 6 - 
Blow, Ben, 5. 

Blythe, 119. 

Board of Directors: Automobile 

Club of Southern California, 

52; California State Automobile 

Association, 51. 
Boards of Supervisors, County: 

Alameda, 132; Contra Costa, 



[290] 



Index 



x 38; 139; Fresno, 144; Kern, 
151, 154; Kings, 160, 161; Los 
Angeles, 167; Marin, 168, 169; 
Merced, 175; Monterey, 181; 
Napa, 79, 187; Orange, 192, 193; 
197; Riverside, 198; Sacramento, 
204, 205, 209; San Bernardino, 
211, 215; San Francisco, 221; San 
Joaquin, 227; San Mateo, 233; 
Santa Barbara, 234, 235, 238; 
Santa Clara, 240; Santa Cruz, 
250; Solano, 252; 257; Sonoma, 
259; Stanislaus, 268; Sutter, 
270; Tulare, 276; Yolo, 287. 

Board of Trade, Yolo, 287. 

Bodfish Mill Road, 244. 

Bohemian Club Grove, 260. 

Bond Issues, County: Contra 
Costa, 138, 139; Fresno, 144, 
145, 148; Kern, 151, 154; Kings, 
156; Los Angeles, 163; Merced, 
174; Monterey, 180, 181 ; Napa, 
190; Orange, 192; Riverside, 198; 
Sacramento, 204, 205; San Ber- 
nardino, 210; San Joaquin, 222; 
San Mateo, 229; Santa Barbara, 
234; Santa Cruz, 246; Sonoma, 
258; Stanislaus, 269; Sutter, 275; 
Tulare, 276; Yolo, 287. 

Proposed, 127; Tabulation of, 

125, 126. 

State, 1 to 10. 

Bonds, Sale of State Highway, 2. 

Boone, Mrs. W. A., 139. 

Boquet or Deadman's Canyon, 95, 
106. 

Borden Highway, 143, 226. 

Bornhorst, W. F., 190. 

Boulder Creek, 115, 247. 

Boulevards, Foothill, 102; Great 
Highway, 217; Harbor Truck, 
163; Junipero Serra, 217; Long 
Beach, 163; Pico, 163; Redondo- 
Riverside, 166; Skyline (Oak- 
land), 132, 133; Skyline (San 



Francisco), 220, 221 ; Twin Peaks, 

216, 217. 
Bowman, Lloyd, 251. 
Boyd, Joseph, 142. 
Bradford, Perley K., 205. 
Brandon, E. J., 5. f 

Brandt, H. J., 152. 
Braves, John, 145. 
Brawley, 109. 
Brewer, Rev. W. A., 229. 
Bridges, 2, 34, 63, 85, 126, 167, 190, 

191, 209, 234, 263. 
Brown, J. Stanley, 8; W. H., 229, 

Buchanan, W. J., 138, 139. 

Buena Vista Reservoir, 87. 

Bullard, E. J., 148. 

Bunker, W. E., 175. 

Bureau of Highways, 12, 19; Map 

of, 14. 
Bureau of Public Roads, U. S., 30, 

31, 121, 122, 123, 124, 130, 144, 

168, 222, 252, 258, 264, 282. 
Burlingame, 222. 
Burke, M., 168; Tom, 151. 
Bush, J. M., 151. 
Butte County, Road Mileage, 127; 

Bond Issue Planned, 288. 



Cache Creek, 116, 286. 
Cady, L. R., 10. 
Cahuenga Pass Road, 166. 
Caine, Joseph E., 9, 137. 
Cairns, F. S., 190. 
Cajon Pass, in, 211. 
Calaveras Big Trees, 108. 
Calaveras County, Road Mileage, 

127. 
California Development Board, 9. 
California Good Roads Campaign 

Committee, 9, 10, 11. 
California Highway Commission, 

4, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 36, 37, 



[291] 



California Highways 



39, 4i, 47> 5 2 > 53, 55, 5 6 , 57, 

California Republic, 102. 

California State Automobile As- 
sociation, 5, 6, 9, 50, 51, 1 20- 13 1. 

California State Redwood Park, 
245, 250. 

California Street Bridge, 167. 

Calistoga, 115. 

Calistoga Chamber of Commerce, 
190. 

Call, San Francisco, 17. 

Camp Sites on Highway, 53. 

Campaigning for Good Roads, 120, 
124. 

Campanile, Sather, 136. 

Campbell, A. P., 198; George A., 

Can tone, Charles, 187. 

Canyons: American, 253; Brea, 196; 
Dublin, 101; Eel Run, 62; 
Feather Run, 106, no; Grape- 
vine, 93, 101, Jameson, 102; 
Klamath Run, 69, 115; Laguna, 
196; McCloud, 66; Rattlesnake, 
62; Sacramento River, 65; Santa 
Ana, 193; Shasta, 67; Tie, 25; 
Topango, 166; Tujunga, 25. 

Capwell, H. C, 137. 

Carlton, C. C, 5, 57, 58. 

Carmel, 183. 

Carmel-San Simeon Road, 85, 117, 

*33- 
Carnine, P. K., 145. 
Carpet treatment, 37, 38, 39. 
Carpinteria, 235. 
Carquinez, Straits of, 104. 
Carr, Francis, 9, 51. 
Carroll, C. A., 190; J. P., 154. 
Carter, M. C, 161. 
Caruthers, W. S., 46, 71, 74, 75, 

204. 
Casey, Michael, 7; J. P., 138; 

William, 181. 
Cassin, E. W., 9. 



Castaic-Tejon-Ridge Route, 87, 

88, 163. 
Catlett, J. R., 270. 
Causeway, Yolo, 73, 74. 
Chabot, Lake, 136. 
Chambers of Commerce: Calistoga, 

190; Fresno, 148; Kern, 154; Los 

Angeles, 6; Martinez, 142; Napa, 

190; Oroville, 8; San Diego, 7; 

San Francisco, 8; San Jose, 9; 

Santa Barbara, 238; St. Helena, 

190. 
Chaplin, Charlie, 122, 174. 
Charles, O. N., 259. 
Chico, 115. 
Chinn, H. J., Jr., 190. 
Chisholm, Dr. Arthur, 190. 
Cholame Lateral, 85, 92, 152. 
Chronicle, San Francisco, 17. 
City Hall, San Francisco, 6. 
Clancy, W. B., 198. 
Clark, Mrs. E. L., 251; W. B., 270; 

W. Lewis, 79, 80, 87, 94, 95, 96, 

97- 
Clarke, J. H., 268. 
Clarksburg, 286. 
Claussen, Charles E., 252, 257. 
Clayton, W. S., 51, 245. 
Clear Lake, 105. 
Clemens, E. R., 281. 
Clement, H. J., 187. 
Clough, L. L., 10. 
Coachella, 108. 
Coachella Valley, 199. 
Coalinga, Vote in, 148. 
Coalinga Lateral, 97, 103, 148, 157, 

160. 
Coast Range, 64. 
Coates, J. Y., 227. 
Cobb, Charles H., 145. 
Cochran, M. F., 79, 172. 
Cogswell, P. F., 167. 
Cole,W. E., 187. 
Collins, W. A., 144. 
Colma, 232. 



[292] 



Index 



Colorado Desert, 97, 109. 

Colorado River, 117. 

Colorado Desert Bridge, 167. 

Colusa, 104. 

Colusa County, 104; Bond Issue, 
125. 

Colvin, E. R., 142. 

Committee, Assembly Roads and 
Highways, 8; Senate, 8. 

Committee of Six, 6; of Twenty- 
one, 7. 

Committee, California Good Roads 
Campaign, 8, 9, 10. 

Concrete, 2, 35, 36, 39, 40, 47, 49, 
78, 92, 99, 100, 118, 129, 130, 
I3 2 > *39> J 48, 163, 169, 179, 191, 
192, 198, 207, 210, 220, 233, 238, 
240, 257, 259, 264, 274, 276, 285. 

Congestion, Traffic near San Fran- 
cisco, 80. 

Connelly, W. B., 252, 257. 

Connert, H. B., 10. 

Constitutional Amendment re- 
quired, 9. 

Contra Costa County, 138, 145; 
Map 140, 141; Road Mileage, 
127. 

Convention for 191 9 Bond Issue, 

6,7- 
Convict Labor, County, 213. 
Convict Labor, State, 41, 42, 43, 

44, 45, 46. 
Convict Labor Law, 41. 
Cook, F. A., 7. 
Cooperation Given Commission, 

34. _ 
Cordelia, 102. 
Cornell, Charles E., 137. 
Cornwell, Z. L., 145. 
Costello, F. A., 137. 
Cothran, C. S., 175. 
County Bond Elections, 125, 126. 
County Seat Laterals Required by 

Law, 31. 
Cowell, Arthur E., 175. 



Cozzens, H. F., 181. 

Crane, Horace, 268. 

Crescent City, 63, 64, 100. 

Cressey, Frank A., Jr., 51, 268. 

Crittenden, B. S., 227. 

Crookshank, M. M., 192. 

Crossings, Railroad, 49, 50, 66. 

Crystal Bay, 113. 

Cuesta Pass, 84. 

Cummings, F. J., 8; J. W., 10; M. 

Earl, 220. 
Cunningham, 259. 
Curbs, Concrete, 28, 49. 
Curves, Banking and Widening, 38. 
Custer, J. M., 229. 
Cuyama Lateral, 86, 92, 117, 154, 

238. 

D 

Dallas, R. W., 145. 

Darlington, N. D., 5, 28, 29, 55, $6, 

57- 
Date Ranches, 108. 
Davidson, Mrs. H. M., 58; M., 227. 
Davie, Mayor John L., 10. 
Davies, E. W., 154. 
Davis, 102. 
Davis, Herman, 205. 
De Jarnatt, J. B., 10. 
de Young, M. H., 51. 
Deaderick, H. S., 234, 235. 
Deadman's or Boquet Canyon, 95. 
Dean, W. B., 10. 
Deasy, C. J., 221. 
Death Valley, 194. 
Deer Horn Mountain, 149. 
Deleau, G. A., 229. 
Del Norte County, Road Mileage, 

127. 
Delta Region, 104. 
Denman, John R., 263. 
Department of Engineering, 18, 28, 

29. 
Department of Highways, 18. 



[193] 



California Highways 



Devlin, E. J., 251; Robert T., 205. 

Dinuba, 277. 

Direct Tax in Contra Costa County 

Divisions of State Highway, 32, 59, 
65,71,76,81,87,94. 

Dixon, Mrs. F. A., 251. 

Dodge, Mrs. Charles, 146; Jona- 
than S., 6, 7, 167; R. E., 58. 

Donahue, John, 204. 

Donnelly, J. H., 204. 

Donner Lake, 24, 105, 113. 

Donner Party, 113. 

Donlin, Charles, 52. 

Doran, W. A., 8. 

Doss, H. F., 259. 

Doulton, H. J., 234. 

Downieville, 108, 113. 

Doyle, Frank R., 263. 

Drury, W. E., 157. 

Drussel, E. J., 187. 

Dry town, 116. 

Dublin Canyon, 101, 226. 

Ducor, 277. 

Dudley, George, 181. 

Duhrihg, Fred G., 263. 

Dunbar, C. O., 263. 

Duncan, W. E., Jr., 8. 

Dunes, Sand, 94, 98. 

Dunkel, A. E., 140. 

Dunlap, D. A., 187. 

Dupen, George, 142/ 

Dwyer, J. J., 28. 

Dyerville, 60. 



East Side Highway, 100. 

Eddy, J. M., 222. 

Eden, Walter, 8. 

Editorials: Fresno Republican, 17; 

Los Angeles Times, 16; San 

Francisco Examiner, 17; Call, 17; 

Chronicle, 17; Stockton Record, 

J 7- 



Edson, F. B., 287. 

Edwards, C. H., 11; N. T., 192, 
197. 

Effect of Roads on Industrial De- 
velopment, 15. 

Egan, Richard, 192. 

Egg Center of Pacific Coast, 259. 

Eksward, F. L., 8. 

El Camino Real, ^. 

El Camino Sierra, 107. 

El Centro, 97, 103, 108, 109. 

El Centro-Brawley Highway, 97, 
108. 

El Centro- Yuma Highway, 97, 109. 

El Dorado County, Road Mileage, 
127. 

El Portal, 105. 

Elkhorn, 286. 

Ellery, Nat, 18, 19, 28. 

Ellis, W. R., 57. 

Emigrant Gap-Donner Lake State 
Road, 24. 

Engineers, County, 133, 143, 145, 
151, 161, 167, 175, 181, 191, 192, 
193, 203, 204, 205, 209, 211, 215, 
217, 222, 227, 233, 238, 241, 251, 
263, 264, 269, 275, 277, 287. 

Engineers, State, 5, 18, 30, 31, 32, 
33> 57> 59> 7 6 > 81, 87, 94,96. 

Esberg, Milton, 51. 

Esparto, 283. 

Eureka, 59, 60, 61, ioo, 106, 112. 

Evans, Hugh P., 137; J. L., 151; 
S. C, 8, 198. 

Eversole, Keith C, 10. 

Examiner, San Francisco, 17. 

Exeter, 277. 

Expansion Joints, 40. 



Fairbanks, Douglas, 116. 
Fairfield, 116. 
Farnham, Clark T., 139. 
Farm Bureau, 6, 187, 251, 274. 



[294] 



Index 



Farm Machinery Regulatory Stat- 
utes, 48. 

Farwell, J. D., 245. 

Feather River Canyon, 106, no. 

Felton, 247. 

Ferrill, H. F., 9. 

Field, Mrs. Ruth Fuller, 190. 

Fig Tree John's, 108. 

Finch, B. J., 124. 

Finley, S. H., 192, 197. 

First Biennial Report, 4. 

Fisher, John H., 10, 52. 

Fitzgerald, Mrs. W. A., 145. 

Flaherty, T. F., 7, 198. 

Fleming, A. P., 8; D. M., 252, 258. 

Fletcher, Austin B., 5, 30, 37. 

Fletcher, Ed., 7. 

Fleishhacker, Herbert, 220. 

Fletter, O. W., 251. 

Flint, F. P., 52. 

Flower Industry, 228. 

Foothill Boulevard, 102. 

Ford, J. O., 139. 

Forderer, George S., 51. 

Forests, National. 

Fort Tejon, 101. 

Fotheringham, W., 140. 

Foulke, L. M., Jr., 10. 

Francis, J. M., 229, 233. 

Frazer, F. M., 160. 

Free Road Grade, 105. 

Freeman, Frank,- 109. 

Freemire, W. A., 211. 

Fremont, General, 166. 

Fremont Pass, 166. 

French, George M., 227. 

Fresno, 101, 149; Chamber of Com- 
merce, 148. 

Fresno County, 144-149; Map, 146. 
147; Road Mileage, 127. 
* Fresno Republican, 17. 

Frick, J. T., 235. 

Fuller, T. B., 10. 

Fulmor, A. C., 203. 

Funds, Inadequacy of Bond, 57. 



G 



Gable, H. H., 287. 

Galbraith, G. C, 270. 

Gallagher, Andrew J., 221. 

Galvin, J. F., 139. 

Gamble, W. W., 187. 

Gardner, Casper J., 10, 168; John 
E., 251; T. G., 187. 

Garrard, Ed., 139. 

Garrett, Levi, 145. 

Garrison, Henry, 268. 

Gateway into California, 211. 

Gates, Egbert J., 8. 

Gaviota Pass, 83. 

General Grant National Park, 114, 
149, 155. 

General Grant Tree, 281. 

General Sherman Tree, 281. 

General Superintendent State Hos- 
pitals, 18. 

Getchell, Clarence, 10; C. E., 151. 

Geysers, 190, 262. 

Geyserville, 262. 

Gibson, L. H., 85, 86. 

Giffen, Wylie M., 145. 

Gill, J. B., 211; John L., 151. 

Gillett, Governor, 27. 

Gilroy, 112. 

Gilson, E. A., 187. 

Glass, Frank L., 140; William, 145. 

Glenn County, Bond Issue, 125, 
126; Road Mileage, 127. 

Glover, J. B., 125. 

Goat Island, 133. 

Goddard, A. D., 259. 

Gold Mining, 105, 112. 

Goleta, 239. 

Good Roads Associations, 139, 145, 
174, 205, 251, 269. 

Good Roads Bureau, California 
State Automobile Association, 6. 

Good Roads Committee, Automo- 
bile Club of Southern California, 
6. 



t 2 95] 



California Highways 



Gordon, Frank, 187. 
Gough, W. J., 58. 
Grade, Bell Springs, 60, 61, 62. 
Grade Crossings, 49, 50, 66. 
Grades, Excessive, 60. 
Grades, State Highway, 59, 82. 
Graham, John R., 10, 174, 175. 
Grange, Napa, 121. 
Grant, O. S., 154. 
Grapevine Canyon, 93, 101. 
Grapevine Creek, 89, 90. 
Grass Valley, 105. 
Graves, Albert, 270; Frank, 270. 
Gray, Kerk, 139. 
Great Highway, 217. 
Great Sierra Wagon Road Com- 
pany, 20. 
Greek Theater, 136. 
Greeley, Horace, 103. 
Green, A. J., 229. 
Greenback Lane, 208. 
Gregory, Sam, 270; W. H., 287. 
Grier, C. E., 215. 
Gronwoldt, A. H., 10. 
Guadalupe, 238. 
Guerneville, 260. 
Guiberson, J. W., 160. 



H 



Haack, E. H., 251. 

Half Moon Bay Road, 232. 

Hall, Fred H., 154. 

Halladay, Daniel S. 

Ham, Edgar T., 215. 

Hamilton, C. D., 198; W. J., 132. 

Hamlin, Ralph, 6, 7. 

Hammond, Howard, 227. 

Hampton, J. M., 275. 

Hamner, J. T., 198. 

Hanford, 155. 

Hangtown, 103. 

Harbor Commissioners, State Board 

of, 19, 28. 
Harbor Truck Boulevard, 163. 



Hardenbrook, C. K., 234. 

Harris, Mendocino County, 60; 

Santa Barbara County, 83. 
Hart, Dwight H., 8; Glanville, 227, 

J.O.,151. 
Harter, C. B., 11. 
Hartmann, Isaiah, 251. 
Harvey, J. A., 5, 7, 10, 221, 250. 
Hatch, Dr. F. W., 28. 
Havely, J. C, 205. 
Haviland, P. A., 133. 
Hayden, J. Emmett, 221. 
Hayward, 132. 
Healy, Clyde E., 217. 
Hearst, W. Randolph, 136. 
Hecker, Henry, 240. 
Heckman, Fred, 139. 
Hein, Mark, 187. 
Helms, W. T., 139. 
Henderson, Dr. C. H., 10. 
Hendrow, A., 263. 
Henry, D. E., 124. 
Henshaw, B. B., 263. 
Hensley, George W., 145. 
Hershler, J. D., 145. 
Heyer, C. W., 132. 
Hickey, T. L., 229, 233. 
Hicks, J. W., 152. 
Highland Drive, 136. 
Highway, Abuse of, 48. 
Highway Bond Issue, County, 125, 

126; State, 1, 11. 
Highway, Camp Sites, $3. 
Highway Commission, State, 27, 

28,29,34. 
Highway Commissioners, State, 18, 

28, 29* 5S> 5 6 > S7> 5 8 - 
Highway Commissions, County, 151, 

160, 192, 198, 204, 211, 234, 247. 
Highway, Great, 217, 218. 
Highway, State, Act Providing for, 

27. 
Highways, System of, Bureau of 

Highways, 18. 
Highway, Treeplanting, 52, $3. 



[296] 



Index 



Hill, R. P., 263. 

Hillsides, Sliding, 62. 

Henckley, George S., ill. 

Hinkle, C. D., 247. 

Hobart, R. W., 268. 

Hocking, T. A., 268. 

Hocks, Oscar, 221. 

Hogan, W. B., 227. 

Hollister, 106. 

Hollister to Pacheco Pass Road, 
106, 107. 

Homans, State Forester, 53. 

Honor Camps, 42. 

Honor Men, 41. 

Hook, Vincent, 138. 

Hopland, 105. 

Hopper, W. W., 287. 

Horlock, Arthur E., 160. 

Hoskins, Ernest, 145; J. H., 269. 

Hotel Men's Association, Northern 
California, 7-9; Southern Cali- 
fornia, 7-9. 

Hotle, W. N., 263. 

Howe, Fred. R., 251; Walter C, 
31, 81, 82, 84, 85. 

Hoyle, Bert, 175. 

Hubbard, A. L., 240; C. D., 10. 

Hull, Asa, 229. 

Humbert, Charles, 263. 

Humboldt County, Road Mileage, 

Hundred and One Mile Drive, 11 4, 

215. 
Huntington Beach, 196. 
Hynes, John D., 221. 



International Teamsters Associa- 
tion, 7. 

Imperial County, Bond Issue, 126; 
Road Mileage, 128. 

Imperial Valley, 103, 108. 

Independence, 107. 

Indio, 108. 



Inyo County Good Roads Club, 

107. 
Inyo County, Road Mileage, 128. 
Irvine, James, 197; R. C, 14, 19, 

204. 
Irwin, J. L. C, 8. 



Jackson, 112, 116. 

Jameson, Canyon, 102. 

Jarvis, Dr. C. F., 137. 

Jastro, H. A., 151. 

Jennings, T. W., 217. 

Jensen, Chris P., 144. 

Joaquin Miller, 136. 

Johnson, A. H., 161; C. D., 14; 
C. F., 152; E. A., 263; Frank, 160; 
Governor Hiram, 27, 28, 29, 30, 
55; H. K., 204; J. A., 145; J. B., 
144; J. S., 280; M. B., 5, 6, 7, 8, 
229, 233; Philip, 204; S. E., 245. 

Joint Conference, Assembly and 
Senate Committees, 8. 

Jones, F. V, 137; G. W., 106; J. 
C, 142; W. F., 145. 

Jorgensen, Chris, 144. 

Joyner, F. H., 166, 167. 

Judah, H. R., Jr., 251. 

Junipero Serra Boulevard, 217. 

K 

Kanstein, L. J., 154. 

Kaplansky, Mrs. David, 251. 

Kaweah River, 156. 

Kearsarge Pass, 149. 

Kearsarge Pinnacles, 149. 

Keel, C. W., 11. 

Keith, Frank, 263. 

Keller, Harry, 142; Henry W., 6, 

7>9- 
Kellogg, F. E., 234. 
Kelly, G. W., 154; Hugh, 160; S. 

2 3 4;W.W., 187. 



[297] 



California Highways 



Kemmerer, J. P., 214. 

Kendall, A. G., 215. 

Kennedy Springs, 25. 

Kennerley, George, 140. 

Kenny, Owen, 190. 

Kern County, 150, 155; Bond Issue, 

125; Road Mileage, 128. 
Kern River Canyon, 153. 
Kern- Ventura State Highway, 25, 

92. 
Kidder, F. E., 137. 
King, Lyman M., 8. 
Kings County, 156, 161; Bond 

Issue, 125 Road Mileage, 128. 
Kings River, 156. 
Kings River Canyon, 114. 
Kings River Canyon Road, 22. 
Kit Carson Pass, 112. 
Klink, 277. 



La Canada, 25, 118. 

La Honda, 26, 232. 

Labor, Convict, 41, 46. 

Labor, Increase in Cost of, 3. 

Labor, State Federation of, 8. 

Laboratory, State Highway Main- 
tains, 58. 

Lafferty, D. H., 11, 51. 

Laguna Beach, 196. 

Lahaney, Joseph, 5, 221. 

Lake Almanor, no. 

Lake Chabot, 136. 

Lake County Bond Issue, 125; 
Road Mileage, 128. 

Lake County Lateral, 105. 

Lake, Lower, 24. 

Lake Merritt, 133. 

Lake Tahoe, 13, 24, 105, 107, 113. 

Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, 20, 103. 

Lancaster to Baileys Road, 167. 

Langdon, J. E., 205. 

Langford, J. T., 10. 

Lassen County Road Mileage, 128. 



Lassen County Lateral, 69. 

Lassen Peak, 69, 100, no. 

Lassen State Road, 23. 

Lathrop, R. P. 

Laytonville, 60. 

Le Baron, C. A., 263. 

Leavitt, Frank, 10. 

Leek, Jasper, 193. 

Leeson, C. G., 9. 

Legislature, Method of Meeting, 4. 

Leinburger, W. O., 287. 

Lemon Cove 277. 

Lewis, C. B., 250. 

Library, State of California, 19. 

Lick Observatory, 241, 243. 

Lindley, Curtis, 220. 

Little, C. R., 268. 

Live Oak, 271, 272. 

Load, Law as to Road, 48. 

Lochead, Robert, 144. 

Loder, A. E., 31, 76, 77, 78, 79, 96. 

Lodi, 107. 

Lompoc, 84, 239. 

Long Beach Boulevard, 163. 

Los Angeles, 163. 

Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce, 

6. 
Los Angeles County, 162, 167; 

Bond Issue, 125; Road Mileage, 

128. 
Los Angeles-Riverside Highway, 

196. 
Los Angeles Times, 16, 17. 
Los Gatos, 1 01. 
Los Olivos-Alisal Routing, 83. 
Lothrop, L. R., 215. 
Lovelace, Byron O., 277. 
Lower Lake, 24, 115. 
Lyman, E. D., 52. 
Lynch, W. H., 258, 259. 
Lubben, Anita, 187. 
Luttrell, C. J., 9. 



[ 29 8] 



Index 



M 

McBride, J. L., 192. 
McBryde, W. H., 14, 142. 
McClatchy, Mrs. C. K., 205. 
McClellan, J. M., 160; J. W., 142; 

R. F., 167. 
McClimonds, 154. 
McCormack, Thomas, 7, 11, 252, 

256, 257. 
McCormick, John, 187. 
McEvoy, P. H., 229. 
McFadden, Frank P., 181 ; R. J., 

192. 
McFarland, J. B., 154. 
McGovern, Margaret, 8. 
McGrail, T. M., 190. 
McGregor, John A., 220. 
Mclntyre, J. O., 160. 
McKeehan, Sam, 275. 
McKevitt, F. B., 204. 
McKillip, C. W., 204. 
McKinneys-Donner Lake Road, 24. 
McKinnon, Elmer, 51. 
McLane, H. E., 145. 
McLaren, John, 53. 
McLeran, Ralph, 221. 
McMahan, C. C, 10. 
McManus, T. W., 151. 
McMillan, H. G., 137. 
McMullen, R. J., 137. 
McPherson, Duncan, 251. 
McSheehy, James B., 221. 
MacBain, John, 7, 10, 221, 233 
Maclay, Thomas, 263. 
Machinery, Farm-on Highway, 48. 
Mack, Adolph, 6, 7. 
Mackinder, F. B., 190. 
Macomber, J. K., 277. 
Mad River Low Gap Route, 22. 
Maddocks, F. T., 58. 
Maddox, Ben, 10, 52. 
Madera County, Road Mileage, 

128. 
Mahoney, C. E., 205. 



Maintenance, 35, 47. 

Maintenance Fund, 47. 

Maje, 14. 

Majorities, State Bond Issues, n. 

Malone, W. P., 10. 

Manheim, E. E., 148. 

Mann, Jefferson, 181. 

Mansfield, George C, 57. 

Manson, Marsden, 14, 18. 

Mare Island Navy Yard, 102, 253. 

Marin County, 168, 173; Road 

Mileage, 128. 
Mariposa, 105. 
Mariposa County Road Mileage, 

128. 
Mariposa Lateral, 105. 
Markham, Governor, 18. 
Markleeville, 23. 
Marks, F. B., 145. 
Martin, George, 187; W. J., 8, 229. 
Martinez, 102, 104. 
Martinez Chamber of Commerce, 

Martinez-Benicia Ferry, 136, 138. 
Martland, R. W., 137. 
Mason, H. A., 5, 220, 221. 
Mass Meeting called for Third 

Bond Issue, 6. 
Masterson, Terry, 229. 
Maude, J. L., 14, 18. 
Maxwell, Thomas, 7, 10, 187. 
May, Roy, 161. 
Mecca, 108, 119. 
Meek, B. B., 8. 
Meese, George O., 139. 
Melone, H. C, 187. 
Melvin, Howell, D. 
Mendocino County Road Mileage, 

128. 
Merced- Yosemite Road, 105. 
Merced County, 174, 179; Bond 

Issue, 126; Road Mileage, 128. 
Merced Falls, 179. 
Merced River Canyon, 105. 
Meredith, Craddock, 205. 



[ 2 99] 



California Highways 



Meridian, 104. 

Merk, S. D., 229. 

Merry, Edw. F., 51. 

Merryman, 277. 

Mersireau, C. B., 137. 

Mexico, 103. 

Meyer, W. A., 205. 

Michigan Bar, 116. 

Middle Lake-Surprise Valley State 

Road, 26. 
Milling, F. W., 190. 
Milks, J. B, 247. 
Millar, J. R., 137. 
Millay, Jerry, 10. 
Miller, D. W., 227; Frank A., 10, 

52; H. G., 52; Joaquin, 136; Mrs. 

L. B., 187. 
Mint Canyon, 95, 107, 118. 
Miot, A. E., 280. 
Mission San Jose, 132, 136. 
Misuse of Highways, 48. 
Mitchell, F. E., 10, 221, 240. 
Mitchell, John S., 8; Standish, 9; 

W. L., 187. 
Mix, Concrete, 37, 55. 
Modesto, 1 01, 104. 
Modoc County, no; Bond Issue, 

126; Road Mileage, 128. 
Modoc County Lateral, 69. 
Mojave, 117. 

Mojave-Barstow Road, 155. 
Mojave Desert, 107, in. 
Monk, Hank, 103. 
Mono County, 107; Road Mileage, 

128. 
Mono Lake Basin State Road, 20. 
Monroe, John, 139; Mrs. K. L., 

Montecito, 235. 
Monterey, 112, 185. 
Monterey-Carmel Road, 185. 
Monterey County, 180, 185; Bond 

Issue, 125; Road Mileage, 128. 
Monterey National Forest, 85. 
Montezuma, 114. 



Montgomery, E. R., 160, 161 ; P. 
J. S., 281; R. J., 281. 

Moore, C. E., 270; R. A., 160; W. 
S., 247. 

Morehead, R. L., 270, 275. 

Morey, A. A., 251. 

Morgan, Dr. C. L., 229; H., 154; 
Wallace, 154. 

Morley, E. L., 175. 

Mormon Bar, 91. 

Morrow, J. H., 140. 

Morton, E. W., 140; R. M., 205, 
222. 

Morse, C. M., 229. 

Mosely, C. L., 270. 

Mothers Clubs, 121. 

Moulton, Dr. E. S., 270. 

Mount Brewer, 149; Mount Diablo, 
134; Mount Konocti, 105; Mount 
Roubidoux, 106; Mount Saint 
Helena, 105; Mount Shasta, 64, 
ico, no; Mount Tamalpais, 133, 
169; Mount Whitney, 107; Mount 
Wilson, 117. 

Movies used in campaigns, 122. 

Moye, Laurence, 277. 

Moyer, Franklin, 187. 

Muller, Hugo, 137. 

Mullins, John F., 132. 

Mulvane, A. B., 21 5. 

Mulvihill, Joseph, 221. 

Murphy, C. H., 251; D., 8, 9. 

Murry, D. W., 169. 

Muse, E. M., 58. 

Myers-McKinneys State Road, 23. 

Myers to Truckee Road, 113. 



N 



Napa County, 186, 191 ; Bond Issue, 

126; Road Mileage, 128. 
Napa Valley, 102. 
Naranjo, 277. 
Nares, L. A., 9, 51. 



[300] 



Index 



National Forests: Angelus, 118; 

Klamath, 68; Stanislaus, 104; 

Tahoe, 24; Trinity, 115. 
National Parks: General Grant, 

114, 149, 155; Yosemite, 114. 
Natomas Company of California, 

I3°> I 3 I > 2 °9- 
Navarro River, 115. 

Needles, in, 117. 

Nelson, Charles A., 221. 

Neman, R. L., 287. 

Netherlands of America, 208. 

Neumann, J. V., 232. 

Nevada City, 105, 108. 

Nevada County Road Mileage, 128. 

Newberry, C. W., 154. 

Newhall Tunnel, 166. 

Newland, W. T., 192. 

Newman, J. H., 276. 

Newport Beach, 196. 

Newton, E. F., 160. 

Nichols, H. J., 10. 

Nissen, Theo., 142. 

Northcutt, C. S., 11. 

Nordhoff, 25. 

Northern California Hotel Men's 

Association, 7, 9. 
Northwestern Pacific Railway, 59. 
Nulty, N. J., 142. 



o 



O'Brien, J. K., 8, 9; W. J, 205. 

O'Shaughnessy, M. M., 217. 

Oakland, 101, 104, 132. 

Oakley, W. C, 8. 

Oasis, 118. 

Off, E. T., 52. 

Office Personnel California High- 
way Commission, 58. 

Ohannesian, George, 145. 

Oil Fields, 103, in, 196. 

Oil Macadam, 39, 75, 129, 181, 222, 
*3S- 



Oliver, Emory, 130, 131 ; George, 

142. 
One Hundred and One Mile Drive, 

114,215. 
Orange County, 192, .197; Bond 

Issue, 125; Road Mileage, 128. 
Orange Grove, 277. 
Orcutt, 234. 
Orland, 115. 
Ormsby, A. S., 142. 
Orosi, 277. 
Oroville, 106. 
Oroville Lateral, 106. 
Orvis, W. S., 10. 
Ostrom, A. C., 137. 
Overloading State Highway, 125, 

126. 
Owens Lake, 107. 
Owens River Valley, 107. 
Oxnard, 117. 
Oxnard-San Juan Capistrano Road, 

117, 167,197. 



Pacheco Pass-Hollister Road, 106, 

107. 
Pacheco Pass Road, 42, 107, in, 

148, 178, 244. 
Pacific Gas & Electric Company, 

no. 
Packard, J. A., 198. 
Page, Logan Waller, 79. 
Palo Alto, 243. 
Paramore, Dr. E. L., 79. 
Parent Teachers Association, 121. 
Parker, Ivan H., 8; Joseph M., 
' 245. 

Parkinson, C. R., 245. 
Parks, James F., 10. 
Parsons, H. G., 151, 154. 
Partrick, Jasper, 79, 186. 
Pasadena, 103. 
Pasadena State Highway, 25. 
Paso Robles, 112. 



[301] 



California Highways 



Patch, Walter W., 96, 99. 
Patterson, H. E., 145. 
Pauley, James A., 154. 
Pavement, Standard adopted for 

State Highway, 35, 36, 37. 
Peanut Road, 68, 112. 
Pearce, J. W., 227. 
Pearson, Charles B., 227; George 

M., 198. 
Pebley, Frank, 175. 
Peck, F. S., 205. 
Peltier, George W., 205. 
Percentage of vote on three Bond 

Issues, 11. 
Perham, George, 233. 
Permanent Pavement, discussed by 

Austin Fletcher, 35. 
Permanent Pavement required by 

Law, 29. 
Pescadero, 232. 

Pescadero-Redwood Park Road, 25. 
Petaluma, 259. 
Petaluma Creek, 102. 
Peters, John L., 263. 
Peterson, C. V., 145. 
Pfrimmer, F. M., 276. 
Philips, Emmett, 5, 57. 
Phinney, C. M., 204. 
Picketts Junction, 112. 
Pico Boulevard, 163, 166. 
Pieratt, James, 187. 
Pinnacles, 107. 
Pixley, D. C, 192. 
Placer County, Road Mileage, 128. 
Placerville, 103, 113. 
Placerville, Lake Tahoe Road, 20. 
Plumas County, Bond Issue, 125; 

Road Mileage, 128. 
Plumas County, Laterals, no, in. 
Polsley, Harry, 8. 
Porterville, 277. 
Posey, George A., 133. 
Power, J. E., 221. 
Powers, Ed., 10, 227. 
Preisker, C. L., 238. 



Prendergast, J. J., 211. 

Price, B. B., 160; J. R., 18. 

Prison Board, 42. 

Procter, A. G., 287. 

Pulse, Harry, 139. 

Purchasing Agent, State Highway, 

58. 
Purkitt, Claude F., 8. 



Quail, F. E., 227. 
Quincy, 70, 106, in, 
Quinn, A. W., 276. 



R 



Racine, J. B., 137. 

Radcliff, G. G., 5; W. R., 251. 

Railroad Commission, State — Reg- 
ulates Crossings, 49. 

Railroad Crossings, 49, 51. 

Railroad Crossings, Subway — Skew 
and Right Angle, 50. 

Raines, Frank R., 268. 

Ramage, Arthur, 137. 

Rambo, H. C, 154. 

Ramsey, T.*H., 11. 

Rand, E. C, 263. 

Randle, G. N., 204. 

Ratio, Percentage — in State Bond 
Issues, 11. 

Rattlesnake Grade, 60. 

Ray, Don C, 142. 

Raanier, Frank, 259. 

Record, Stockton, 17. 

Redding, 106, no. 

Redfield, John, 187. 

Reding, W. I., 10.* 

Redlick, Jos., 154. 

Redwood City, 228. 

Reese, Philip, 204. 

Reilly, Mrs. C. F., 145. 

Reinforcement of Concrete, 38. 



[302] 



Index 



Reinkens, G. C, 137. 

Reische, C. E., 270. 

Reports: Bureau of Highways, 14, 
15; California Highway Commis- 
sion, 4. 

Resolution: Appointing Highway 
Commission, 28. 

Rich Grove, 277. 

Richmond, E. N., 245. 

Ridge Route, Tejon-Castaic, 87, 

95- 

Rigdon, E. S., 8, 215. 
Rights of Way, Supervisors pro- 
vide, 2, 34. 
Rights of Way, Colusa County, 

Bonds for, 125. 
Riley, R. L., 8, 117, 214, 215. 
Rio Vista, Bridge at, 208. 
Riverbank, 286. 
Riverside, 106. 
Riverside County, 198, 203; Bond 

Issue, 125; Road Mileage, 125. 
Riverside, Lateral, 106. 
Road Funds, 124. 
Road Grades in Division I, 60. 
Road Mileage, Paved and Unpaved, 

127, 128, 129. 
Road Types, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40. 
Robb, Jesse, 233. 
Robert Louis Stevenson, 190. 
Roberts, F. H., 142; Dr. J. L. D., 

9, 10, 181; L. H., 227. 
Robinson, A. G., 160. 
Rodeo, Salinas, 185. 
Rodgers, A. D., 190; W. S., 250. 
Roll, John, 240. 
Rolph, Mayor James, Jr., 10, 216, 

217. 
Ropes, J. G., 281. 
Rose Station, 88. 
Roseville, 105. 
Rostron, G. H., 5, 250. 
Roubidoux, Mount, 106. 
Round-the-Bay Boulevard, 77, 78, 

79, 104. 



Routes, State Highway, 100, 119; 
Provisions Governing, 31; Selec- 
tion of, 82, 83, 84. 

Rumsey, 115, 283. 

Rush, B. F., 8. 

Russian River, 258. 

Russell, John W., 161; W. 0.,.287. 

Russi, John, 205. 

Rutherford, Wm., 203. 

Ryder, Irving L., 241. 



Sacramento, 62, 63, 71, 72, 73, 100, 

101, 102, 104, 116. 
Sacramento County, 204, 209; Bond 

Issue, 125, 126; Road Mileage, 

128. 
Sacramento River, 208. 
Sacramento Valley, 100. 
Sales, W. L., 263. 
Salida, 104. 
Salinas, 184. 
Salinas Rodeo, 185. 
Salinas Valley, 184. 
Salt Lake Railroad, in. 
Salton Sea, 108, 199. 
Sample, E. P., 8. 
San Andreas, 107. 
San Benito County, Bond Issue, 

125; Road Mileage, 128. 
San Benito County, Lateral, 106. 
San Bernardino, 211. 
San Bernardino County, 210, 215; 

Bond Issue, 125; Road Mileage, 

128. 
San Bernardino Valley, 211. 
San Bruno, 232. 

San Diego, 97, 98, 100, 103, 108. 
San Diego County, Bond Issue, 125, 

126; Road Mileage, 128. 
San Francisco, 6, 8, 17, 59, 60, 100, 

101, 102, 104, 105. 
San Francisco Bay, 101, 133, 138. 



[303] 



California Highways 



San Francisco, City and County, 

216, 221; Boulevard Mileage, 128. 
San Francisco Call, 17; Chamber of 

Commerce, 6, 7; Chronicle, 17; 

Examiner, 17. 
San Gorgonio Drive, 203. 
San Gregorio, 232. 
San Joaquin County, 222, 227; 

Bond Issue, 125; Road Mileage, 

128. 
San Jose, 101, 240, 241, 244, 245. 
San Juan Capistrano Point, 196. 
San Juan Grade, 106, 184. 
San Luis Obispo, 84, 85. 
San Luis Obispo County Road 

Mileage, 128. 
San Mateo, 232. 
San Mateo County, 228, 233 Bond 

Issue, 125; Road Mileage, 128. 
San Mateo County Development 

Association, 229. 
San Simeon, 117. 
Sand Dunes, 94, 98. 
Santa Barbara, 235, 239. 
Santa Barbara County, 234, 239; 

Bond Issue 125; Road Mileage, 

128. 
Santa Clara County, 240, 245; Road 

Mileage, 128. 
Santa Cruz, 101, 247 251; Bond 

Issue, 126; Road Mileage, 128. 
Santa Cruz Lateral, 101. 
Santa Maria, 117, 239. 
Santa Morena Mountains, 228. 
Santa Rosa, 259, 260. 
Santa Ynez River, 83. 
Santiago Canyon, 197. 
Saratoga, 250. 
Saratoga Gap, 114. 
Sather Campanile, 136. 
Say, W. H., 148. 
Scandrett, T. H., 175. 
Schleuter, Theo., 137. 
Schmitz, Eugene E., 221. 
Schumacher, Wm., 193. 



Schaefer, Walter, 1 87. 

Schellenger, A. E., 270. 

Schellville, 116. 

Scholefield, John, 209. 

Scott, J. S., 287; W. G., 107. 

Seal Beach, 196. 

Sebastopol, 259, 260. 

Sedgley, C. L., 263. 

Segerstrom, Charles, 11. 

Selleck, F. E., 251. 

Senate Roads and Highways Com- 
mittee of, 8. 

Senclair, D. J., 137. 

Sequoia Park, 103, 160. 

Seventeen Mile Tangent, 89, 93, 
ioi. 

Sewell, James, 263. 

Shaffer, Fred., 8, 11,287. 

Shanklin, J. W., 10. 

Shannon, Warren, 221. 

Sharkey, Will R., 139. 

Shasta, 106. 

Shasta Canyon, 67. 

Shasta County, Road Mileage, 129. 

Shasta, Mount, 67, 101. 

Shaver, John, 198. 

Shea, John F., 9. 

Shearer, W. B., 8. 

Shepherd, Willard E., 227. 

Sheppard, J. B., 263. 

Sherman, E. L., 9, 268. 

Shields, Robert, 270. 

Shoulders, Highway, 47. 

Sierra County, Road Mileage, 129. 

Sierra Nevada Mountains, 67, 113, 

. II 7- 
Sierra State Highway, 22. 

Signs, Road, 50, 51. 

Silvas, James, 139. 

Singleton, Fay, 276. 

Simpson, Lynn C, 205. 

Sinnott, N. P., 250. 

Sirdevan, D. S., 142. 

Siskiyou County Road Mileage, 

129. 



[304] 



Index 



Siskiyou Mountains, 68. 

Skelton, John T., 205. 

Sky Line Boulevard, Oakland, 136; 

San Francisco, 116, 220, 221, 

233. 
Slater, Herbert W., 8, 9. 
Sliding Hillsides, 62. 
Sloat Boulevard, 217, 220. 
Smith, A. F., 160, 161 ; C. H., 142; 

E. A., 142; H. E., 192; L. B., 

58; R. S., 203. 
Solano County, 252, 257; Road 

Mileage, 129. 
Soledad Canyon, 95. 
Somers, Ed., 187. 
Somner, F. G., 44, 59, 61, 62, 63, 

64. 

Sonoma, 102. 

Sonoma County, 258, 263; Bond 

Issue, 126; Road Mileage, 129. 
Sonora Lateral, 104. 
Sonora-Mono State Road, 21. 
Sonora Pass, 104. 
Soquel, 247. 
Sourwine, J. A., 214. 
Southern California Hotel Men's 

Association, 7, 9. 
Southern California, Automobile 

Club of, 52. 
Southern Pacific R. R., 2. 
Spears, C. A., 137. 
Specifications, State Highway, 35. 
Spencer, A. T., 275; Mrs. Harry, 

142. 
Spinks, C. C, 10, 160. 
Sportsmans' Hall, 103. 
Spreckels, Adolph, 220; Rudolph, 

105. _ 
Springville, 277. 
St. Helena, 190. 
St. Helena, Mount, 190. 
Staats, R. C, 132. 
Stage Trip, Willits to Eureka, 60, 

61. 
Stalnaker, R. H., 58. 



Stanislaus County, 264-269; Bond 
Issue, 126; Road Mileage, 129. 

Stanislaus National Forest, 104. 

Stanislaus Plan, 265. 

Stanislaus River, 235. 

Stanwood, Sam J., 235. 

Stark, Richard E., 276. 

Start of Work on State Highway, 
256. 

State Association, Boards of Super- 
visors, 6. 

State Board of Harbor Commis- 
sioners, 19, 28. 

State Department of Engineering, 
18. 

State Engineer, 19, 20, 28. 

State Federation of Labor, 8. 

State Highway, Standard Paving 

of, 30, 3S> 36, 37- 

State Hospitals, General Superin- 
tendent of, 18, 28. 

State Library, 19. 

State Railroad Commission, 49. 

State Roads, 20 to 26. 

Stephens, Governor, 5. 

Sterling, Robert, 181. 

Stern, C. F., 41, $6. 

Sterns, A. F., 8. 

Stetson, John W., 51. 

Stevenson, Robert Louis, 190. 

Stiles, C. A., 154. 

Stitt, M. H., 287. 

Stockton, 101, 107, 222, 223, 226, 
227. 

Stoesser, O. D., 257. 

Stone Bridges, 190, 191. 

Stover, Dr. W. M., 10. 

Straits of Carquinez, 104. 

Strathmore, 277. 

Struck, Fred W., 193. 

Stuckenbruck, J. W., 227. 

Sturges, V. K., 137. 

Subway Crossings, 49, 50. 

Suhr, Fred, Jr., 221. 

Suisun, 116. 



[305] 



California Highways 



Sullivan, C. E., 275. 

Sultana, 277. 

Sumner, C. R., 151. 

Sunkler, Charles, 187. 

Sunnyvale-Los Gatos Road, 243. 

Sunset Beach, 196. 

Superintendent of State Hospitals, 
18, 28. 

Surfacing, 37, 38, 39, 130. 

Survey of Upper Coast, 63, 64. 

Susanville, no. 

Susanville Lateral, 69. 

Sutter Buttes, 101, 104. 

Sutter County, 270, 275; Bond Is- 
sue, 126; Road Mileage, 129. 

Swain, A. E, 154. 

Sweetser, C.H., 123,124; F.W.,169. 

Swett, J. L., 154. 

Swift, T. B., 142. 



Tahoe,. Lake, 20, 23, 24, 103, 113. 
Tahoe City, 113. 

Tahoe-Crystal Bay State Road, 24. 
Tahoe National Forest, 24. 
Tahoe to Ukiah Highway, 74, 104, 

IO S- 

Tahoe to Ukiah Highway Associa- 
tion, 8. 

Talbert, T. B., 193. 

Talbot, Paul, 181. 

Taplin D. O., 187. 

Tavan, A. J., 140. 

Tax Payers' Association of Sonoma 
County, 263. 

Tax Rate, Compared in Contra 
Costa Bond Election, 142. 

Taylor, J. E., 10; Volney, 140. 

Teagle, E. E., 154. 

Teamsters Association, Interna- 
tional, 7. 

Tehachapi Mountains, 94, 95. 

Tehama County, Road Mileage, 
129. 



Tehama Junction, 102. 
Tejon-Castaic Ridge Route, 87, 88, 

163. 

Tejon Fort, 101. 

Tejon Pass, 87, 89. 

Tests, Concrete Pavement, 35, 36. 

Teuchsen, H. C, 229. 

Tharsing, H. E., 227. 

Thayer, E., 270. 

Thermal, 97, 108. 

Thickness of Pavement, 3$, 36) 139, 

160, 163, 169, 175, 191, 192, 198, 

210, 240, 259, 285. 
Third State Bond Issue, 7,11. 
Thisby, L. C, 204. 
Thompson, J. R., 8; Dr. C. V., 233. 
Thornton, D. K., 165; John R., 257. 
Three Rivers, 277. 
Threefall, H. E., 227. 
' Tiburon, 116. 
Times, Los Angeles, 16'. 
Tioga Pass, 114. 
Tioga Road, 20, 114. 
Toll Road, Lake County Bonds, to 

Buy, 126. 
Topeka Surfacing, 161. 
Topoc, Arizona, in, 117, 124. 
Torrence, J. T., 235. 
Towne, Burton A., 5, 6, 7, 10, 28, 

2 9> 5h 55> S 6 > 226 > 22 7- 

Towne, Percy E., 51. 

Tractors, Highway use of, by, 48. 

Traffic Congestion near San Fran- 
cisco, 80. 

Tree Planting, Highway, 52. 

Trethaway, E. E., 226. 

Trevathan, George, 270. 

Trinity County, Road Mileage, 129. 

Trinity-Humboldt Road, 21. 

Trinity Lateral, 68. 

Truckee, 105, 113. 

Truckee River, 113. 

Trunk Line System, Required by 
Law, 1. 

Trythall, J. H., 138. 



[306] 



Index 



Tucker, Homer, 268. 

Tujunga Canyon, 25. 

Tulare County, 276-281; Bond Is- 
sue, 126; Road Mileage, 129. 

Tulare Lake, 156. 

Tule Jakes Road, 74. 

Tunnel, Alameda, Contra Costa, 
136, 138; Newhall, 101. 

Tuolumne County, Road Mileage, 
129. 

Tuolumne Meadows, 114. 

Tupman, H. I., 154. 

Twin Peaks Drive, 216, 217. 

Twitchell, T. C, 234. 

Tyler, Frank A., 140. 

Types of Pavement, 35 to 51. 



u 



Ukiah, 105. 

United States Bureau of Public 
Roads, 30, 31, 121, 122, 123, 124, 
130, 144, 168, 222, 252, 258, 264, 
282. 



Vaca Valley, 256. 

Vacaville, 256. 

Vallejo, 102. 

Valley, Antelope, 25. 

Valley, La Canada, 25. 

Valley of the Moon, 116. 

Van Kalhoven, A., 140. 

VanNoy, W. H., 281. 

Van Tassell, Harold, 287. 

Velie,T. W., 281. 

Ventura County, Bond Issue, 125, 

126; Road Mileage, 129. 
Verdi-Nevada, 113. 
Vicini, C. P., 8. 
Vincent, 25. 
Visalia, 101, 103. 
Volper- Jules, 187. 
Von Geldern, Edward, 275. 



Vote, Ratio of, in State Bond Is- 
sues, 11. 

w 

Wadsworth, E. S., 270. 

Wagner, A. J., 58. 

Wagon Road, Lake Tahoe, 20, 103. 

Wagy, J. L, 154. 

Walker, P. J., 51; S. O., 51. 

Walker's Pass, 117. 

Wall, George, 139. 

Wallace, Robert, 142. 

Walsh, J. T., 10. 

Walton, L. A., 270. 

Washburn, H. L., 251. 

Washington, 286. 

Wassum, Charles, 79, 187; H. A., 

197. 
Waterman, George S., 10, 145, 148. 
Waters, Captain Benjamin, 227. 
Watkins, D. E., 9. 
Watsonville, 247. 
Wearing Surface, 37, 38, 39, 130. 
Weaver, Herman B., 58. 
Weaverville, 106, 112. 
Webb, Attorney General, 9. 
Webber, S. J., 187. 
Weise, J. H., 259. 
Welch, H. E., 9, 227; H. H., 148; 

Richard J., 5, 8, 9, 220, 221. 
Wells, Charles, 144. 
West, R. K., 251. 
Westgaard Pass, 118. 
Westphal, Dr. E. W., 51. 
West Side Highway, 178. 
Westwood, no. 
Waymouth, A. A., 250. 
Wheatley, Henry, 187. 
White, E. J., 270; W. T., 175. 
Whitewater River, 108. 
Whitmore C. E., 56, 57; Vaughn 

D., 268. 
Whitney, Mount, 107. 
Whitworth, G. H., 175. 



[307] 



California Highways 



Widening of Curves, 38. 

Widenmann, H. J., 56, 252, 256. 

Width of Pavement, State High- 
way Standard, 37. 

Wight, George, 238; Ralph, 142. 

Wilbur, Loyd, 275; Ralph, 142. 

Wiley, J. W., 154. 

Willaman, J. D., 154. 

Williams, 104. 

Williams, George M., 234; Joseph, 
142; Sam B., 145. 

Willits, 59, 60. 

Willows, 115. 

Windrem, Guy, 8. 

Winslow, George R., 57. 

Winters, 256, 257, 286. 

Wolfe, Edward I., 221. 

Woman's Clubs, 6. 

Woodlake, 277. 

Woodland, 283. 

Woodley, F. E., 167. 

Woodson, J. B., 87, 88, 90, 93. 

Woody, Allen J., 151. 



Wulff, E. J., 124. 
Wyer, C. F., 190. 



Yolo Basin, 73. 

Yolo Board of Trade, 8. 

Yolo Causeway, 74, 102. 

Yolo-Lake Highway, 24. 

Yosemite National Park, 114. 

Yosemite Valley, 25, 91, 92, 101, 
105. 

Young, A. J., 160, 161; Ed., 187. 

Yreka, 67. 

Yuba City, 104. 

Yuba County, 104, 109; Road Mile- 
age, 129. 

Yuma, Arizona, 109. 

Yuma-El Centro Road, 109. 



Zaca Canyon Route, 84. 



[308] 



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